Seeing Double
by Lady Henrietta
Summary: Post Revelations, S4: Just when Adama thinks that his world has ended, new visitors remind him that life is never what it seems. A/R
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel.

Seeing Double

Prologue

Hannah could hear the weapons fire from the ships outside their Raptor. She wanted to hide under the desk, but a sudden shriek from her mother caused her to pull away from the window and look over at the pilot's area. "Mom, what's wrong?"

The older woman had moved from the passenger seat to the pilot's seat, staring down at the dead man on the floor. "Hannah, I need you to take the other seat. I know that you and Kara have been sneaking around for flying lessons. At the moment, you're not in trouble. Do you remember any of it?"

Hannah nodded. "Of course, mom."

"Then will you take the other controls? An electrical surge killed our pilot and I can't fly this thing by myself," her mother relayed.

As the girl sat down and buckled her seatbelt, a blast from one of the Cylon raiders outside shook the Raptor. She looked over her shoulder, her gaze following the baby's wails. "Mom, Charlotte's crying again."

The older woman chewed her lip pensively. "I know, but right now it's more important that we can fly to a safe place."

Both taking the controls, Hannah prayed that they could escape. Her hands shook at every sound. "I wish dad was here."

Her mother sighed heavily, maneuvering the Raptor out of the action. "I know, sweetheart, me too. But we will get through this, and we'll see him again. Remember what I've told you…"

"'Never give up hope.' I know mom, but we're-"

"Just keep your eyes on the DRADIS screen, please," her mother instructed.

Hannah sighed, watching the dots on the screen, knowing that her mother was only being curt because survival was the highest priority at that moment. Red dots chasing blue and green dots. She trained her gaze at the blue dot of their Raptor. Then slowly five of the red dots began moving closer to their blue dot.

"Mom, they're following us!" Hannah exclaimed.

"Hang on. I need you to watch the percentage for the shield," the older woman said, looking back at the DRADIS.

"That's the blue thermometer thing, right?"

"Yes."

The Raptor shook as it took two more hits to the hull. "It's going down!"

Her mother pushed a few buttons toward the middle of the main console. "I've got rear phasers online. I'm going to try and see if I can get them to back off."

Hannah watched which buttons her mother pushed. Another cry from Charlotte caused the older woman to turn around though as the ship was struck again. The force of the blow launched her into one of the bulkheads.

"Mom!" Hannah cried, jumping up.

She had enough time to see that her mother was alive before running over to the pilot's seat. As Hannah looked out of the front window, she did not need the DRADIS to tell her that she was surrounded. She returned fire, the Raptor's new phasers mixing with the Cylon's fire, and the weaponry of their new allies, who were attempting to attract the Cylons' attentions. However, the mix of weapon fire began reacting with elements in the asteroid field that the Raptor had flown into, forming a bluish cloudlike mass.

On a hunch, Hannah flew the Raptor into the mass. But as she cleared it, the Cylons were nowhere to be found.


	2. There are many many crazy things

Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel. Some chapter titles are from the song "They Can't Take That Away," written by George and Ira Gershwin and sung by Frank Sinatra.

Chapter 1: There are many many crazy things

It had been two weeks since the remnants of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol had found Earth. With the amnesty policy, Saul Tigh, Galen Tyrol, and Samuel Anders resumed their jobs. Only Tory remained in the brig, for treason Bill Adama had decided. In truth he did not want Laura to face the woman before she died.

Earth had been a frightening wasteland where hope had hit the proverbial fan and been shattered. But on the ashes of the disaster, the people had forged through and decided to try despite the harsh conditions. Scans had indicated that the planet was not quite as polluted as they had perceived. While on the surface, Bill had given Laura his wedding ring, which she placed on the middle finger of her right hand. It was not a proposal, but an affirmation of what they already knew regarding their feelings. Earth had not been kind to Laura Roslin. When the landing party returned to _Galactica_, Cottle discovered that she had contracted a virus and her weakened immune system was unable to fight it.

She was dying. She was leaving him, but he would hold on until the very last. The scene in Life Station was like her vision, but instead of him sitting in a chair next to the bed, his shoes were off and he was lying on the bed next to her. They moved close to each other, laying as they had on New Caprica.

He held her to him securely, rubbing his cheek against her headscarf. "I love you."

She sighed, tracing circles into his chest with one hand. "I know that."

"I just want to make sure you remember," he stated.

Moving her head so that she could look at him, she smirked. "I'm dying, not dumb. If I don't know that by now-"

"I like telling you," he amended.

She resumed her earlier position. "That, I can accept. What have the people decided?"

_Always a president_. "The Quorum voted to keep Lee as president, and they approved the idea of Galactica going to search the area for another suitable planet," Bill told her.

"Something tells me you'll be accompanied by _Colonial One_," she assessed.

"Right. Lee wanted to help," Bill mentioned. Using his body as leverage, she pushed herself up to a sitting position, her face a grimace of pain, but one she was willing to ignore. "Laura, you don't need to-"

"I need you to listen. I've been having visions, stranger than other ones I've had. I can't explain how, but you'll see me again," she relayed, staring straight into his eyes.

"In your idea of an afterlife?" he inquired.

She shook her head. "No, here, but I don't know how."

When she lost her hold on life, he felt as though a part of his soul had left with her. His eulogy for her did not leave a dry eye in anyone who had heard it. No one questioned when he spent the day in the seclusion of his quarters.

Adama silently made his way to CIC the following morning, no one around him daring to say a word. He nodded cordially to Tigh as he stepped toward the middle of the room. _Why am I still here? Why couldn't the gods just take me with her? Surviving his harder than dying_, he reasoned as his mind drifted.

His gaze kept drifting over to Tory Foster. The Cylons had appointed her as their liaison, since Tigh had refused. They placed her on _Galactica_, intending to follow the Battlestar later to search for another habitable planet. The former aide occasionally looked up at the viewscreen, or she would look down at the panel, not making eye contact with anyone. He could not decide if her refusal of eye contact was out of guilt or disgust.

For the first three hours of his shift, nothing unusual occurred. Then the DRADIS beeped. "Admiral, we've got something," Gaeta pointed out.

The 'Old Man' looked over at the lieutenant. "What is it?"

Tigh studied the DRADIS with his good eye. "It's showing up as a Raptor, but it's not sending any codes," the colonel replied.

Dee suddenly looked up. "Sir, it's hailing us."

"Put it through. We might as well know what we're dealing with," Adama responded.

A voice that no one recognized came on the wireless. "_Galactica_, thank the gods you're here. This is Hannah to whoever's in charge over there today. Mom's hurt. I don't know how to dock this thing. And the Cylons are after us, but I don't know where they went."

Adama picked up the microphone. "This is Galactica Actual. We need your codes."

"That's a good recording. Sounds just like him. You guys know I don't know the codes. I'm serious. Mom's hurt. Could you please send someone to help us dock?"

The sudden and almost foreign sound of a baby crying in the background made Adama's decision. "Get me Starbuck," he told Dee. Then he looked to Helo. "Keep her talking until Starbuck gets out there."

After Dee had contacted Kara, Tigh walked over toward the admiral. "Think it could be the last of the Final Five?"

Adama's brow furrowed as he frowned deeply. "I don't know what we'll find, but we should bring a security team along with Dr. Cottle."

When the Raptor shakily landed, the admiral stood with Cottle and Tigh, watching the door expectantly. As it opened, a girl with caramel-brown hair, who looked to be around twelve, emerged from the ship. She was balancing a baby on one hip. "The baby probably belongs to the girl's mother," Cottle assessed, stepping forward.

The girl looked up at him with a sigh of relief. "Boy am I glad to see you. Mom hit her head when the Cylons started firing at us, oh and the pilot's dead."

Cottle motioned to the medical staff that had accompanied him. When he stepped inside, even his usual gruff exterior could not stop him from gasping. "How the hell is this possible?"

Hearing his exclamation, Adama and Tigh stepped over to the area. The girl noticed Tigh first. "I thought you got airlocked."

"Rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated," the colonel grumbled.

Then her gaze shifted from him to Adama. Her eyes widened at seeing the admiral. "What are you doing here? How did you get out of Life Station?"

Adama blinked at her in surprise. "I don't know who you are or what you're talking about."

Her brow furrowed as she continued to watch him. "But you've got to know! You were in Life Station and they said you couldn't leave."

"I'm sorry, but you're mistaken," Adama insisted.

The girl pulled the baby closer to her. "Then you're a Cylon and I have to tell the rest of the ship before you try to replace the admiral."

Tigh and Adama exchanged glances. "I don't think this kid's playing with a full deck," the colonel suggested.

"Either that, or there's a lot more going on than we know," Adama added.

Cottle called over from the Raptor. "Admiral, I think you might want to take a look at this. Clearing the deck might be a good idea too."

Adama made his way to the Raptor, letting Tigh clear the desk. The girl moved to block Adama's path. "You're a Cylon and you're not getting anywhere near my mother."

"He's not a Cylon, but I think everybody's gonna have a lot of explaining to do," Cottle remarked.

Reluctantly the girl stepped aside and the admiral walked over to Cottle. What he saw made him forget how to breathe. His heart felt like a vice was squishing it as he studied who they had just placed on a stretcher. He could see that she was unconscious, but breathing. Putting out a hand, he braced himself against a bulkhead.

Tigh had watched the scene, looking over Adama's shoulder. "I think we've got a problem."

(A/N: Tigh's "Rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated" was from Mark Twain)


	3. That will keep me loving you

Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel.

Chapter 2: That will keep me loving you

Adama recovered his voice and turned to look at Cottle. "We need to get her out of here without her being seen. When we get her to Life Station, treat her and test her for being a Cylon."

"My mother is not a Cylon! You're the Cylon!" the brown-haired girl accused. It was in her moment of anger that Bill noticed her eyes: they were a brilliant shade of green.

"We don't have time for this," Cottle told the girl as he removed his lab coat and draped it over the woman before letting the medics place her on the stretcher.

Without too much attention, everyone made their way to Life Station, the girl carrying a diaper bag over one shoulder while still trying to balance the baby as she followed Cottle closely.

Bill Adama's eyes never left the covered form on the stretcher, watching the rise and fall of the chest that indicated life. Tigh walked next to him, muttering "impossible" and "frakking joke" every once in a while.

When they reached Life Station Cottle grabbed a passing nurse. "See that the girl and the baby sister are alright."

The nurse nodded and made her way over to Hannah. But the girl stepped closer to Cottle. "What about my mother. Will she die?"

"At this point I don't think so. I plan to examine her myself. I need you to wait over with Mandie here," Cottle advised, gesturing toward the nurse.

Hannah eyed Adama and Tigh suspiciously. "What about those two?"

"I promise you there's nothing to worry about. They are going to wait over there," Cottle explained, pointing to two seats.

The girl glanced at the slender black-haired nurse. "Alright."

As Hannah left, Cottle pulled the curtain around the bed on which the unconscious woman rested. Bill and Saul sat down heavily in the two chairs as time ticked by. "This has to be wrong. She couldn't have been a Cylon," Bill mumbled.

"If she was one, she's been one from the beginning. It would mean she's the last of the Final Five," Saul mentioned.

The admiral glowered at his XO. "You're not helping."

Saul looked down at his boots. "Sorry. It doesn't explain the kid though. I mean, she acts like she knows us, and she knows _Galactica_."

"It just doesn't make sense," Bill admitted.

At last the curtain moved aside and Cottle stepped out with a blood sample. He faced the two men as they stood. "My office. Just give me a minute."

A few moments later, Cottle returned to his office with a folder of charts. "Well? Is she a Cylon?" Adama questioned.

Cottle flipped open the folder. "As you well know, it'll take a while before I can tell you that. I'm comparing her blood to Athena's as well as Saul's since you ordered his blood tested when we found out who Four of the Five were."

Bill nodded. "How is she?"

"She's got a concussion, but she should be coming out of it soon. You should know that I ran her blood through the system for an ID check," Cottle mentioned.

Adama placed his hands on Cottle's desk, leaning forward. "What have you found?"

Cottle lit a cigarette. "Her DNA checks out exactly. I even checked to see if we were dealing with a clone. Caprican scientists were toying with the idea before the attacks. Cloning has a deviation though from the original pattern. That woman out there is no clone."

"Then she's a Cylon. There's no other explanation," Tigh argued.

The doctor shook his head. "Somehow I don't think so. I don't have much more than a gut feeling fro now, but I believe she is who she appears to be."

"We'll have to place her in the brig when she wakes up," the admiral advised.

Cottle sighed heavily. "I don't think that's wise. For one, the girl and the baby are definitely hers. Though the older one wouldn't let anyone get close enough to the little one for a blood sample, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see the resemblance, as well as the physical signs on the mother."

"She wouldn't be the only Cylon mother who's spent time in the brig," Adama retorted.

Rolling his eyes, Cottle continued. "There's the insistence of the daughter that you're the Cylon, but there's something else I think you should know. The mother's wearing a wedding ring on the appropriate finger. And it's the right size."

"I think it's time we got some answers," Adama stated.

The three left Cottle's office and headed over to the bed. Cottle moved the curtain aside and both men followed him. Bill took a deep breath as he beheld the sleeping woman before him. Her shoes sitting on the floor, skirt and blouse only slightly wrinkled, fiery red hair full and fanned out on the pillow. There she lay, asleep and in what appeared to be the bloom of health.

He watched as her iridescent green eyes slowly blinked. "Bill." Her eyes then scanned her surroundings. "How did I get here?"

Adama swallowed the lump in his throat and attempted to formulate an answer. "You were brought here, in a Raptor."

Abruptly here eyes widened and she tried to sit up quickly. Cottle grabbed her shoulders to slow her. "Whoa. You need to take it easy for a while. You hit your head pretty good."

"But Jack, the girls! Where are Hannah and Charlotte?" the red-headed woman demanded.

"They're both fine. I believe the admiral here has some questions for you though," the doctor informed her.

"How did you find _Galactica_?" Adama probed.

"You'll have to ask Hannah," the woman began. Then she squinted her eyes, studying him closely. "Bill, why aren't you in a bed? Jack, should he be up and around like this?"

Cottle raised an eyebrow. "I don't know what you're talking about. He's as healthy as a horse."

"But it doesn't make sense," she argued.

"Right now a lot of things don't make sense," Adama remarked. "You don't make sense. Who are you?"

She eyed him incredulously before wincing and rubbing her right temple. "How can you ask me that? I'm your Laura!"

He glared back at her, his answer becoming a low growl. "I'm afraid that's impossible. You see, Laura Roslin is dead. And I know this for a fact because I was there."

Laura sucked in a quick breath. Then she glanced absently at his left hand and saw no ring. She mouthed 'Roslin' to herself. Slowly she met his gaze again. "I need to speak with Hannah. She's the only one who can tell us what happened when the Cylons attacked."

"That can be arranged," Adama conceded, nodding to Cottle.

As the doctor left the area, Laura spotted Tigh. "How the hell did you survive the airlock? And why aren't you in the brig if you're still alive?"

Tigh's brow furrowed. "I was in the airlock, but they didn't go through with it. Our esteemed President Lee Adama, then only interim president, pardoned me and the rest of the Final Four."

Laura adamantly shook her head. "You're mistaken, Colonel. That's impossible since Lee Adama is-"

"Mom! You're okay," Hannah interrupted.

The woman turned and hugged her daughter. "I'm so glad you're alright, sweetheart. Where's your sister?"

"She's sleeping. One of the nurses is watching her," Hannah replied.

Adama looked to Tigh. "Colonel, I want you to find out everything you can about that Raptor."

"Yes, sir," Tigh answered before exiting Life Station.

Watching him leave, Laura spoke to her daughter again. "Hannah, what happened after I hit my head?"

The girl scooted next to her mother on the bed. "The raider kept shooting at us. I tried to shoot back, and the other shuttles tried to get the Cylons' attentions. Then this cloud thing showed up, so I flew through it, trying to lose them. It worked and I found _Galactica_."

Laura looked from her daughter back to Adama as if mentally pacing. "I think I know what happened," she said, facing the admiral. "It's going to sound crazy, but it's the only explanation that makes any sense. Lieutenant Herrera explained the theory to me on a tour once. The right combination of matter, mass, heat, and pressure have the potential to create tears in space, such as black holes and, as the Federation refers to them, wormholes. The Cylons were experimenting with some new weapons. I think that those, combined with the unique weapons of our new allies, and the redesigned weapons of the Raptor somehow created a tear that put us into some sort of parallel or alternate universe."

_Maybe she hit her head harder than Cottle figured_. "You're right, that does sound crazy. And what did you mean by 'allies?'" Adama questioned.

Folding her hands in her lap, Laura replied, "When we found Earth, we found billions of humans. In fact, the entire region of space they live in has dozens of other humanoid species. The ones we've met are part of the United Federation of Planets."

"The Earth we found was a nuclear wasteland, and that was after our alliance with the rebel Cylons," he mentioned.

She blinked at him, wide-eyed. "For us, the Cylons are still a very real threat."

"Do you still think I'm a Cylon?" Adama probed.

She folded her hands in her lap. "No, but you might be a changeling."

Adama blinked. "A what?"

"A changeling, shape-shifter. The Federation just got out of a war with the Dominion. I can't tell you any more than that until I can think of a way to prove that you're not one of them. It's an unfortunate possibility," she relayed.

He ran a hand through his hair. _She always did know how to make things difficult. How can I possibly – no, not that. What would my Laura do? I need this woman to trust us or she'll expose herself to the fleet and I can't explain her presence well enough. Sometimes you have to roll a hard six_. "I think I can prove we're not… whatever you think we could be, changelings. But I need you to come with me."

"She'll need some sort of covering. I'll see if any of those resident cult nuts left one of their hooded robes behind on their last visit," Cottle recommended.

Laura looked over at Adama, raising an eyebrow. "Cult members?"

He shook his head. "It's an annoyance more than anything we actually have to worry about."

"I should tell Hannah that I'll be leaving for a while," Laura mentioned.

Cottle found a gray robe and soon she had followed Adama out into the corridor. She trailed him at a distance as he led her to the morgue. He paused at the door, resting his hand on the handle. _I wish we didn't have to do this. I'm sorry, Laura_. Then he opened the door, motioning for the other woman to follow him inside.

When she entered the morgue, he watched as she rubbed her hands up and down her arms, feeling the chill of the room. He walked over to a drawer and slowly pulled it out. Laura Roslin was revealed, pale and thin, the burgundy wig securely placed on her lifeless head. Her hands lay across her waist, the right on top of the left, a man's wedding ring blinking from the middle finger of the right hand.

Laura gasped and took a step back. She placed a hand on the nearby table to steady herself. "I'm sorry. It's unsettling, seeing yourself dead. So that's where your wedding ring went," she said quietly.

_My almost-wife_. "It was nothing official. We had an understanding of sorts."

She looked at the body again. "Cancer?"

His brow furrowed. "Yes. Are you convinced now?"

Laura nodded. "I'm sorry about making you show her to me."

_At least she seems to understand_, he mused as she reached for the door handle. "Wait. Just give me a minute." The woman nodded as he turned back to his Laura. _Why did you have to be right again? I wish you were here. You'd know what to do_.

The walk back to Life Station was as silent as the walk from it had been. Almost immediately as Laura had shed the gray robe after entering Life Station, she and Adama could hear a baby wailing. Hannah quickly appeared, holding Charlotte as the nurse, Mandie, trailed with the diaper bag.

Laura took the baby. "Shh, shh, it's alright little one. Shh, what do you need? I'm right here. Shh." Then Laura looked over at her older daughter. "Hannah, would you please find the formula?"

The girl nodded as the nurse set the bag down on the bed. Hannah rummaged through it, removing a bottle. "We've got five left, Mom."

Her mother sat down with the baby, holding the bottle to feed her. Cottle watched the scene with interest. "How'd you get baby formula?"

"You used the algae and devised a good mixture," Laura replied.

"In that case, could I borrow some to analyze? I might be able to duplicate it," Cottle suggested. She nodded and Hannah gave him one of the extra bottles. "I won't need much," the doctor added.

The baby in Laura's lap was quiet after being fed. As she held the baby close, she looked back at Adama. "If we truly have crossed into another universe, then the Cylons could do the same if they find the hole. We need to find it again and close it."

Adama faced her again. _She never did pull punches_. "I don't know exactly what we're looking for, but we'll do our best. In the meantime, I can put you three in guest quarters just down the hall from me, in case you need anything."

She gave him a small smile. "I know our being here bothers you, but thank you."

(My thanks to Trialia, Alecandrain2, Mamabella, carolann, Mariel3, Ceridwyn2, and McGonagallFan for reviewing :D)


	4. May I list a few

Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel. Hannah and Charlotte are mine.

Chapter 3: And with your permission, may I list a few

Adama walked Laura and her daughters to the guest quarters, letting Hannah close the door once everyone was inside. Laura pulled the hood down as her eyes scanned the area. "Bill, this is huge. Are these really guest quarters?"

The quarters contained a main room, one bedroom, and one bathroom, along with a kitchen area. "It was being used as a storage room and then we discovered that it had a bathroom," he explained, turning to her. "Is this alright for you?"

She smiled politely, noticing the bed, couch, and dining chairs. "It'll be fine, thank you."

Laura sat down on the couch, holding the baby. Hannah set the diaper bag on the floor and joined her mother. Bill glanced from the baby to Laura. "I'll try to find something for the baby to sleep in."

Hannah turned toward her mother, sighing heavily. "So how long are we stuck here for?"

The older woman raised an eyebrow. "Young lady, the admiral has already gone out of his way to find us a place to stay. I know our situation is not ideal, but you will remember your manners."

Hannah crossed her arms. "Sorry, mom. I just wanted to make it back in three days. Jake Sisko said the officers were going to play baseball ad I could come with if I wanted to."

"Baseball?" Bill asked.

"It's an Earth game," Laura replied. Then she spoke to Hannah. "I'm sorry, sweetie."

Hannah stood and headed for the bathroom as she retorted, "This blows like tillium dust."

Bill raised an eyebrow, watching the girl leave. "Now that's one I haven't heard."

Laura sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. "She learned it from a few friends at the school on the _Gemenon Traveler_. I will be glad when she can start school with other children. The ones she knows now teach her words that I wish she wouldn't bring home."

"From the mouths of pilots?" Bill joked.

She nodded. "Something like that. I need to apologize for Hannah. She's not usually like this."

Bill shook his head. _She's taking this better than I am_. "She's been thrown completely out of her regular life. I wouldn't be surprised if she had a similar problem during the attacks on the Colonies. How old is she?"

"Twelve, nearly thirteen. She's just usually much better behaved," Laura replied.

"Which means that while she's on the edge of being a teenager, she's away from her friends and she's probably as confused as I am about the whole 'double universe' thing," Bill pointed out.

"That makes sense. She's so mature that sometimes I take her age for granted," Laura admitted, arranging the pillows on the couch to make a bed-like area for Charlotte. When Hannah emerged from the bathroom, Laura asked her to watch the baby for a while.

Then Laura walked Bill to the door. "I really appreciate you setting us up like this."

"No trouble," he muttered automatically.

"I know we're a big inconvenience at the moment, but there is one more thing..." she started to mention.

He sighed. "Yes?"

"I forgot to ask Jack for some painkiller before we left Life Station and I have a rotten headache at the moment."

"Follow me. I think I've got a few things you can use," he stated, stepping outside the guest quarters.

She trailed him to his quarters. Once they were both inside he shut the hatch. "Thank you," she said, removing the hood of the gray robe.

"I'll check the medicine cabinet," he responded.

Suddenly she gasped. Adama looked from her to follow her sightline as they both heard a glass crash to the floor. Lee Adama looked up from the couch, a puddle of water and broke glass at his feet.

(My thanks to Mamabella, McGonagallFan, The Breeze, Ceridwyn2, carolann, Mariel3, and Alecandrain2 for reviewing :D)


	5. The way you wear your hat

Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel.

Chapter 4: The way you wear your hat

Lee stared at Laura with a mixture of shock and amazement. "Madame President?" he gasped. "With all due respect, ma'am, you're dead."

When Adama looked back at her, the expression she wore mirrored his son's. "Actually Lee, so are you."

Adama sighed heavily and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I think it's best if we all sit down before this goes any further."

"I'll get the glass," Lee remarked.

Once they were all seated, Adama spoke. "She's from a different universe.

She came here through some accidental wormhole."

"And you believed her?" his son probed.

Adama glanced briefly at her. "It took some convincing, but she wasn't alone."

"I brought my daughters with me," Laura said.

Lee pondered her statement for a moment. "So in your universe, I'm dead?"

A dark look passed over her face. "Unfortunately. You were killed during the Exodus from New Caprica as the Pegasus exploded, but your wife made it," Laura answered.

He sat back against the couch. "Who was I married to?"

"Dee. And your brother is married to Kara," the older woman told him.

Lee's eyes widened, as did Adama's. "Zack's alive?" Lee questioned.

"Of course," Laura replied.

The younger man sighed heavily. "He died in a flight school accident."

Laura placed a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. "Where I'm from, he still had the accident, but he survived. It ruined his knees though so he wouldn't be flying after that. He works in CIC."

Lee smiled at the thougth of his brother alive and having a life. "The question now is what are you going to do here?"

"I need to get back to my universe and close the hole before the Cylons come into your universe," she answered.

Adama retrieved the pain medication for Laura and watched her leave. Then he poured himself a glass of Ambrosia and sat down at his desk.

"Well this has been a strange day," Lee commented, taking a gulp of water from his new glass.

Bill turned to face his son. "You still here?"

The younger man nodded as Bill joined him on the couch. "How do you feel about everything?"

Taking a long sip of Ambrosia, Bill focused on the wall, his eyes locking with a picture of him standing with Roslin. "I was there when she died. Hard as it is, I was beginning to accept it. But this... I don't know what to do with this. I think I understand Helo better."

"I thought I was seeing a ghost," Lee added.

"You're not the only one. The real kicker is that she's married," Bill muttered.

Lee spat out his water in a spray. "To whom?"

Bill faced his son. "If I had to go by looking at the older daughter, I'd say Richard Adar."

"If she married Adar and he's alive, why did she answer to 'Madame President?'" Lee reminded.

"I don't know. Maybe she beat him in an election," Adama supposed.

The younger man loosened his collar. "Why him?"

"She told me - I mean our Laura told me she was having an affair with him just before the attacks on the Colonies. Maybe in this other Laura's universe, he's a descent guy and she married him," Adama suggested.

Lee shook his head. "I have a feeling that Adar would be a slimy ass in any universe."

After Lee left, Adama returned to CIC. Tigh nodded at him as he neared the center. Noting the 'Adama' scowl though, the XO remained silent. Adama looked out at the viewscreen, staring intently at the starry landscape in front of him, as if he could find the hole between the universes by staring. Being left alone for the moment, he allowed his mind to wander.

_This ranks right up with one of the worst days in existence. A different Laura shows up, having lived the life my Laura was denied. And she's married. The sooner we send her back where she came from, the better_. He pulled his gaze away from the screen and looked back at the crew. "The Raptor that jumped in was a fluke, just a prank by someone who had no business getting into a Raptor. I'd like to scan for anything out of the ordinary though, just to make sure that there aren't hostile Cylons out there latching on to extra signals."

"Sir, _Galactica_ only has minimal abilities to scan for subspace frequencies," Dee reminded him.

"Try anyway," the admiral responded.

Several hours later, the scans still had not turned up anything. Tigh leaned close to Adama. "If we can't find the hole they came through, you're gonna be stuck with them."

"Believe me, Saul, I'm very aware of that," Adama stated.

Tory had been quiet enough not to be overly noticeable. Hearing such an odd conversation, she stepped over toward the admiral. "Is there something that I should know about?"

Her question was met by a cold glare from the admiral. "No."

At the end of his shift he made two phone calls. The first was to the galley, telling them to send an extra tray for a few days. He did not know how long Laura and her daughters were staying, but figured that it would be easier if he gave her a tray himself, rather than letting news of her arrival circulate. The second phone call was to Laura herself.

The phone rang four times before someone picked it up. Hearing only silence, Adama spoke first. "It's Bill."

He heard a relieved sigh before her voice. "I'm here. When the phone rang, I wasn't sure what you'd want me to do, so I figured whomever was on the other end could speak first."

"That's fine. Listen, I scanned the area, but _Galactica's_ sensors didn't pick up anything," he relayed.

"There has to be a way," Laura protested.

"I'll see what our other options are tomorrow," he mentioned.

"Okay. Thank you for all you've done so far. We'll sort this out in the morning," she concluded.

"By the way, I'll be bringing dinner by soon."

"I'm guessing your people are still stuck with algae?"

"Unfortunately, but it's not inedible."

"In that case, it's food, and it'll do."

After Adama had dropped dinner off with them and had read through some of the recon reports for the area, he poured himself a glass of Ambrosia. Sighing, he removed his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Then he rose and took the glass with him, heading over to the far wall. On it hung a familiar picture, housed in a new frame. It was of him standing near Laura Roslin. Both had been in their respective uniforms, his military outfit and her dress suit. The frame had been replaced due to the bullet hole in it.

He stared at the picture as he took a gulp of Ambrosia, focusing on her. "You told me I'd see you again, but I never thought it would be like this. Why couldn't you have been a Cylon? It would've made things easier. This Laura, she's going to cause me all sorts of trouble, not that you didn't cause me trouble. But it's different. Her presence puts the fleet in jeopardy, and if I don't find a way to close the hole she's mentioned, we could be fighting Cylons again. What should I do? I don't know how to handle this one."

Sighing again, he set is glass on the end table next to the lamp. Then he slumped down onto the end of the couch closest to the picture. "I think what bothers me most is that she's got what you should've had: a family and a husband. I wish things had been different for us."

After spending a few more minutes in a contemplative silence, he stood, taking one last look at the picture. "Goodnight, Laura," he said before heading to his rack.

(My thanks to The Breeze, Mariel3, carolann, Ceridwyn2, Mamabella, max72, and McGonagallFan for reviewing :D)


	6. The way you sip your tea

Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel.

Chapter 5: The way you sip your tea

Bill had dropped off breakfast, handing the tray to Hannah the following day. The girl still glared at him, but thanked him for the meal. Later while he was working his shift, Cottle called and told him that he had managed to duplicate the algae-based baby formula. The doctor also added that the Cylon test came back negative. It was the only good news for a while though. His shift dragged on and still they had found nothing.

Saul looked over at his CO as the man kept glaring at the viewscreen. The colonel stepped closer to his friend and whispered, "Why don't you take a break, Bill? You can tack more time on your shift later. You look mad as hell and I'd hate to see what would happen if Dee or Gaeta made any mistakes today."

Adama snorted. "You really think I look that bad?"

The XO nodded. "You haven't looked this bad since a third of the fleet went to Kobol."

Bill glared at Saul, but decided that maybe his XO had a point. Then he headed for his quarters. He had only walked in the door and picked up a report when the phone rang. He reached over to answer it. "Adama."

The voice on the other end did not need to give a name. "Bill, I hate to bother you, but I'm exhausted. Hannah's bored out of her mind, but I'm having enough trouble dealing with Charlotte. I was going to put the baby down for a nap and take one myself. I know it's a huge inconvenience, but I was hoping that I could send Hannah to you and you might find her something to do."

He sighed. "But she doesn't trust me."

"Give her a little time. Please?" Laura implored.

_Why can't I ever say 'no' to her?_ "Fine. Send her over," he acquiesced.

He waited for what felt like fifteen minutes, listening for a knock. When he didn't hear one, he decided to open the door. Just as he had suspected, he noticed her walking away. "You know, if you knock, people actually open doors around here."

She wheeled around and sighed. "I was hoping you wouldn't notice and I could go somewhere else."

Motioning for her to come inside, he closed the door as she reluctantly entered his quarters. She flopped down on his couch as he took a chair. "I know you don't like me, nor do you trust me. For some strange reason your mother has sent you here, so we should make the best of it."

"You might fool her, but you can't fool me," she grumbled.

He groaned inwardly. "What can I do to earn your trust?"

She scooted forward on the couch. "Tell me what my hobbies are."

"That's not fair. I don't know you," he expressed.

"This whole situation isn't fair," she retorted.

_Who the frak do you think you are, kid?_ Bill took a deep breath. _Remember, she's only twelve and her life has been turned upside down_. "Do you like Pyramids?"

She shook her head. "Try again."

He sighed. "Triad?" She gave him another head shake and he used his last resort. "Dolls?"

Hannah rolled her eyes. "You're ice-cold."

Adama placed his hands on his knees, attempting to summon his last vestiges of patience. "You're gonna have to give me a hint."

The girl crossed her arms and shot him a look that he recognized as belonging to Laura Roslin. It was a glare in between 'you don't get it' and 'leave me alone.' "Can we just go to the gym?"

Standing, he sighed again. "Yes."

When they reached the gym, he noticed how she entered it and trotted directly over to ring, taking off her shoes. As she was warming up with a few stretches, a shorter female pilot walked over to her. "Hey kid, what are you doing here?"

"I want to try out a few sparring moves I've learned," Hannah answered.

The pilot looked her over incredulously. "I've got some spare time, so I'll humor you. What's your name anyway?"

"Hannah. What's yours?" the girl asked as the woman entered the ring.

"They call me Stinger," the woman replied.

Adama moved closer to see that Hannah did not hurt herself, but was surprised by what he saw. Stinger was trying a standard wrestling move, but Hannah had flipped her over in a move that Adama had never seen before. After a few more curious moves, Stinger left and Hannah called out, "Next."

Two pilots later, he decided that it was time to leave. "Come on, you don't need to draw any more attention to yourself."

She shrugged and breathed, "Fine," before exiting the ring.

On the way back to his quarters, he had a few questions for her. "What exactly were you doing in there?"

"Klingon self-defense moves," she responded nonchalantly.

"'Klingon?' What's that?" he inquired.

She glanced over at him. "They're another alien race in the Alpha Quadrant. They have a war-like lifestyle and they had a self-defense class where we've been staying."

_The more I know about her, the more questions I have_. "Why would your mother put you in a class like that?" he asked as they entered his quarters.

She smirked. "It doesn't sound very lady-like, does it? I was so afraid of Cylons. She and Dad wanted me to have more confidence, so they thought the class would be good for me."

_I'll have to ask Laura later about Hannah's father_. "Why are you so belligerent toward the Cylons? I mean I don't blame you but I'm curious what your particular tiff with them is," Adama questioned.

Pulling her feet up on the couch, she spoke. "The model called Doral kidnapped me not long after the fleet jumped past the red line. I was tied up on the floor for three days without food because of him."

He tried to convey as much sympathy as he could into the look he gave her. "I'm so sorry."

"It's past," she commented dryly.

"I got shot twice by an Eight," he admitted.

"You should've learned your lesson with the first bullet," Hannah remarked.

Bill jerked his head toward her and eyed her incredulously. When she smirked again, he chuckled, rather than correcting her on the bullets. "I guess you have a sense of humor after all."

She laughed. "Most people do."

When her gaze left his, he watched her look from his coffee table, to his desk, and then to his bookshelf. _Of course. Now it makes sense_. He stood and made his way to the bookshelf, thinking about which book he could share with her. Strangely his gaze kept coming back to Dark Day. _I hope you don't mind, Laura. I think it would do her some good_, he mentally commented as he extracted the book from its secure place and returned to the couch.

The book was worn, with one corner curling. Dirt from Kobol still clung to the spine. "I think you might like this," he remarked, handing the book to her.

She accepted the book and confirmed his suspicions when she grinned brightly. That expression too, was familiar to him. His Laura had smiled like that when she had given him Blood Runs at Midnight. It was a smile mixed with happiness and pride. "Took you long enough. You finally figured out I'm a bookworm."

"I should've thought of that first," he admitted, smiling back.

As she opened the cover though, he mentally kicked himself for forgetting the inscription. As Hannah read it to herself, he recalled the words: _'Laura, this book is a gift, a piece offering. Never lend books. It's times like this when we need to remember what's important and keep our eyes on the goal. Despite our disagreements, I owe you my life and my son's life. And I won't forget that. Bill.'_

Hannah looked up at him slowly. "You wrote this for your Laura, didn't you?"

Bill nodded. "Yeah."

She gave him Laura Roslin's lopsided sympathetic smile. "Death blows like tillium dust."

He let a half-smile slip out. "That's for sure."

Hannah returned her attention to the book and began reading it. While she sat on the couch quietly, Bill read through more recon reports from Earth. An hour later a knock interrupted the comfortable silence in the room. He stood to answer it and found a familiar figure in a gray robe at his door, holding an awake, though quiet baby. He ushered her inside.

"How did things go with Hannah?" Laura asked, not noticing her daughter on the couch.

"We got off to a rough start, but things are better now," Bill explained.

Hannah jumped up from the couch. "Mom, he gave me a book, Dark Day."

Laura raised an eyebrow and looked back at Bill. "Never lend books," he related.

The woman smiled. "I knew you'd find her weakness sooner or later. Thanks for… looking after her."

In that moment he wanted so much to reach out and touch Laura's face, her hair, to establish some sort of contact. He looked back at Hannah for a moment, reminding himself that the Laura in front of him was not his. "You're welcome."

As the three of them left, his eyes drifted back to the bookshelf. He sighed, seeing the empty slot that Dark Day had been hiding in and swallowed the lump in his throat. _It wasn't doing me any good, sitting on a shelf collecting dust. Books are meant to be read and enjoyed. My Laura would've understood_.

(My thanks to Mamabella, Ceridwyn2, McGonagallFan, Alecandrain2, max72, Mariel3, carolann, and Mcspender for reviewing :D)


	7. The way your smile just beams

Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel.

Chapter 6: The way your smile just beams

Bill woke and began his usual morning routine. But as he sat down to read his reports while waiting for his coffee, the silence of his quarters became deafening. As the two breakfast trays arrived, a plan formed in his mind. He picked up the phone. "It's Bill," he said, knowing that she was not speaking first.

"Good morning," she replied. "What's going on?"

"I've got your breakfast tray over her and I was wondering if you'd like to join me for breakfast," he invited.

"Is it alright if I bring the girls?" she inquired.

"Of course," he ended.

He heard a knock a few minutes later and rose to answer the door. Having made coffee, he handed Laura a mug after she set Charlotte down on the couch again. "So what is it today?" Laura asked.

Bill ushered Laura and Hannah over to his small dining table and they all sat down. "Pancakes," he answered.

They began eating the green pancakes, Laura looking over her shoulder at Charlotte from time to time. After finishing almost half of one, Hannah looked up at the adults. "I can't say what troubles me more: the fact that the pancakes are green, or that they actually taste like pancakes."

Again Adama noticed a trace of Laura Roslin in Hannah. _Strange, she reminds me more of my Laura than this other Laura. Maybe this Laura is different because she had children_. "Most of the food here is green. However, they have flavor extracts that they add to the food."

Laura smirked. "In our universe the people have these things called replicators. They use particle residue to generate food so whatever you type in is what comes out."

Bill raised an eyebrow with interest. "That's a smart idea. We could use a few of those here."

When Hannah finished her breakfast, she asked if she could look at Bill's ship. He nodded and she proceeded to examine it, lifting it up and turning it from one side to the other. "You know, this thing is a mess. It's whole, but just look at the cracks in this. I mean, this rod here helps the sail stay in place but the whole front was rebuilt," then she paused and glanced over at Bill. "What the heck did you do to this thing?"

He faced her mother. "I'm surprised she knows about ship building."

Laura dealt him a wry smile. "You shouldn't be. She learned it from you."

Nodding, he turned back to the girl. "You don't know how many times I've had to rebuild that thing. The materials for it are hard to come by, so the only answer is more glue."

Hannah giggled and shook her head. "Excuses, excuses."

Bill turned back to Laura. "If you don't mind my asking, there are some things in your universe I'd like to know more about."

She shrugged. "Alright."

"For starters, have you been president since the beginning of the trip?" Bill probed.

Laura took a few bites of her pancake. "Yes. I was the Secretary of Education and I ended up becoming the president when the Cylons attacked the Colonies."

"Did your husband survive the attacks?" he inquired.

She raised an eyebrow, watching him over the top of her glasses. "Yes."

"Were you and I fighting when you found Kobol?" he continued.

Laura shook her head. "You and I found it and after some debate, we decided that investigating it was better than dividing the fleet."

_So the Bill Adama in her universe is the smart one. Just great_. "That's good to know. In this universe, I doubted Laura Roslin's intuition and threw her in the brig. Then I got shot by Boomer when she revealed herself to be a Cylon."

He could see a mixture of sympathy and concern written in her face. "I'm so sorry. Our Boomer was revealed to be a Cylon when Captain Agathon appeared on Kobol with Boomer's double. Both are still alive."

"And Lee? Was he your military advisor? Did he go with you? Was Zarek there too?" Adama pursued.

Her eyes widened. "What in the world happened in your universe? Zarek is and always will be a terrorist. I wouldn't trust him to hand me a tissue. As for Lee, yes he was my military advisor, and he did accompany us. You and I went down to Kobol and found the Tomb of Athena."

Bill pondered her story as he drained his coffee cup. "I can't believe your husband let you go down there like that. But I suppose Adar was never much for camping."

She snorted. "Adar? You've been thinking I married Richard Adar?"

He leaned closer to whisper, "Adar is Hannah's father, isn't he?"

"Yes, but I haven't spoken to him since the day I told him I was pregnant with her," Laura stated with a grin. A moment later they noticed as Hannah left the area to use the bathroom.

Bill's brow furrowed. "Then who is Charlotte's father?"

Laura stood and shook her head, laughing. "You can be so dense sometimes. I'm going to get her." When she lifted the blinking baby from the couch, she handed the child to him. "I want you to take a good look at her and tell me who you think the father is."

Charlotte had the makings of her mother's hair in little red tufts. She giggled and looked up at him with smoky blue eyes. In that instant he had his answer. "She's mine- I mean the other Bill Adama's?"

"Yes. You see, I haven't heard myself referred to as 'President Roslin' since we came back from Kobol. I'm actually 'President Laura Adama,'" she mentioned with a warm smile.

"What happened to distance between the military and the government?" he asked her with mischief in his eyes.

"Two people fell in love and a young girl got an amazing step-father. Her mother lost the next election, which gave them time to learn how to be a family," Laura replied.

"What does Hannah usually call him?" Bill inquired.

"Dad," Laura answered. Then Hannah emerged from the bathroom. "It's too bad you didn't find anything yesterday."

Adama sighed. "_Galactica_ just doesn't have the scanning capability for what you're looking for.

Laura held Charlotte on her lap, running her fingers over the fine hair on the baby's head for a moment. She looked back toward Adama. "I've been thinking, the Raptor that we arrived in has been upgraded and modified. It might be able to scan for what we need to find."

He folded his hands in front of him and thought for a moment. "It could work."

"Then let's give it a try," Laura suggested. She handed Charlotte to the older girl. "Hannah, would you please watch your sister for a while?"

The girl shrugged. "Sure, mom."

"You're welcome to read whatever I have," Bill added before he and Laura left the room, heading for the hanger bay.

Laura donned her hooded robe as she and Bill walked toward the hanger bay, passing people who eyed them strangely. He had expected this and took her by the elbow so that it almost appeared as though he was arresting her. "You don't have to do that. I can just walk behind you so it looks like we're not traveling together," she whispered.

"If I did that, you might get lost or swept up by Baltar's group and I can't risk either of those scenarios," he said quietly.

At last they reached the deck and Adama sought out Galen Tyrol, who had been recently reinstated as the deck chief. The man nodded politely as the admiral approached, then saluted. "Sir, how can I help you?"

Adama glanced at Laura, who had kept her hood on, and then returned to the chief. "We'd like to borrow that Raptor that appeared for a while."

Tyrol shook his head. "Not a good idea, sir. It's been damaged and I've got to make sure all the air leaks are fixed before anybody takes this thing out. However, it's got a bunch of additions that you should take a look at."

"I see," the admiral stated. Then he spoke to Laura. "I know you're on a time limit, but I can't see going out in something that isn't space-worthy."

She sighed. "I suppose you're right."

"Who are you?" Tyrol interrupted. "You sound familiar."

Adama was about to answer when she rested her hand on his forearm. "I think it's best if we continue this discussion inside the Raptor, gentlemen."

Bill nodded and Tyrol led them to the vessel, glancing back with disbelief at the hooded figure. Once they were on board with the door shut, she removed the hood. Tyrol's jaw dropped as he stared at her with a mixture of disbelief and shock. "Madame President?" he whispered.

"Yes, but not the one from your universe. This Raptor has other technology on it because I'm from an alternate universe," she told the baffled chief.

Tyrol glanced over at the admiral. Adama nodded, as if to confirm his question. "Sir, I hope nobody else knows about this," Tyrol added.

"Only a few," Adama replied before turning toward Laura. "Now, you were going to explain what's different?"

She nodded and walked over to the main console. "It has a shield. That's what the blue marker over there measures. Also, it has what the Federation calls phasers. The scanning capabilities have also been increased."

"It's an interesting piece of engineering, but the structural integrity should've been checked before you flew it," Tyrol mentioned.

"Yes. It was still in the process of being upgraded when we were attacked by the Cylons. Can you repair the damage?" Laura inquired.

The chief nodded. "Yeah, but I'll need at least a day."

Laura turned back to Bill. "I think we can manage that."

"We'll just keep our eyes out for Cylon activity," Adama commented.

Knowing that little could be done to help, he and Laura headed back to his quarters. He put a hand on the lever of the door, but found it locked. "She's just taking precautions," Laura stated.

"Let's hope so," he added. He knocked, saying "This is the admiral."

A moment later the door opened. The two adults slipped inside, closing the door behind them. Laura went over to Charlotte, who was still sleeping on the couch. Hannah looked up at Bill. "Did you guys find anything?"

He spotted his ship building book in her hands. "No. The Raptor's damaged and needs repairs before anyone can use it again. Hopefully things should be ready by tomorrow. I see you've found some good reading."

Hannah smirked, glancing down at the book and then back to him. "When I first met the other Bill Adama, he gave me this same book and told me to do something useful with it. That was before we started getting along. I built a ship out of plastic junk that I found and from then on we had something in common."

Suddenly a knock sounded at the door. "Who in the world could that be?" Laura asked. "Don't people usually call?"

Bill headed toward the door while Hannah took her mother's hand. "Mom, we should probably hide until we know who it is."

Adama shook his head. "The only people who knock and don't call are Lee and Saul. It's probably Lee."

As he had predicted, Bill opened the door to find Lee. He let his son into the room and the younger man's eyes flickered from Laura and the baby to Hannah, who had claimed a cushion on the couch. "I came by to ask if you'd found anything regarding the hole in space."

Bill told him about the Raptor and they spoke for a few minutes about the need to move on and find a new planet. "I can give you four days at most," Lee told him.

"I suppose that'll have to do," Bill agreed.

As Lee walked over to the desk where the pitcher of water sat, Hannah spoke up. "So Lee Adama is now President of the Twelve Colonies?"

He poured a glass of water and faced her, studying her face. "That's right. I don't believe we've been introduced."

"I'm Hannah and my baby sister is Charlotte. Really Lee, politics? I thought you had better taste than that," Hannah remarked from the couch.

Lee continued to stare at her incredulously. "It's a long story."

"Whatever," she retorted, turning back to the book on her lap.

When Laura and her daughters left, Lee remained for a moment. "So were you right about Adar?" Lee questioned.

Adama sat on the couch resting his hands on his knees. "Half right. Hannah is Adar's daughter, but Charlotte belongs to the other Bill Adama."

Lee's jaw almost hit the floor. "You mean-"

"Yes. In her universe, she's married to Bill Adama and her title is President Laura Adama," Bill relayed.

"That explains a lot, actually," Lee paused, as if deciding where to take the conversation. "Hannah is a strange kid."

Bill shook his head and sat back against the couch. "Cynical isn't strange."

"That's not what I meant. She seems… this is going to sound weird, but she seems more like Roslin than her mother," Lee remarked.

Adama folded his hands in front of him. "I've noticed that too. The whole thing is just plain eerie."

(My thanks to Mariel3, max72, Mamabella, Taylor, carolann, McGonagallFan, Ceridwyn2, and murphycat for reviewing :D)


	8. The way you sing off key

Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel.

Chapter 7: The way you sing off key

In the morning, Bill had not even left for his shift yet when someone knocked at his door. Before he opened it, he thought he heard crying. _I have the feeling I'm going to be late today_, he reasoned as he saw Laura in the gray robe holding a crying baby. Ushering them inside, he quickly closed the hatch. Then he faced her.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Laura sighed heavily, walking toward the couch as Charlotte continued to cry. "I'm not really sure. Sometimes she gets tired of me and wants to be around her father. I know you're not her real father, but you sound like him and she doesn't know the difference."

Bill eyed both of them warily. "So you want me to hold her?"

"Please," Laura answered.

He held out his arms and she placed Charlotte into his grasp. To minimize the risks, he sat down on the couch. "I haven't done this in years."

She smiled wryly. "That's the same thing my husband said a few times."

"I'll bet," he responded, curling his arms around the baby, holding her close to him.

"He also has this habit of shaving when he's unsettled, particular when he's upset with me," Laura relayed, watching him.

Bill smirked. "That's a habit we share."

"When I told him I was pregnant, at first he thought I was kidding. Then he went over to the bathroom and lathered up to shave. I think I heard him mutter 'what have I done?' at least three times while he was shaving," Laura admitted.

Chuckling, Bill observed her joining him on the couch. "Sounds like a good case of shock."

"It was. We were living on New Caprica at the time and he had just decided to move planet-side," Laura mentioned.

"What happened when the Cylons came back?" Bill inquired.

"Let's see, I was still pregnant then. He took Hannah and me back to Galactica and the ships jumped away," she explained.

"I had to leave my Laura down there," he said quietly.

Laura looked at him with sympathy. "I'm sure she understood. I would have."

He sighed heavily. "Still doesn't make it any easier."

"Life wasn't made to be easy. It was made to be lived," she relayed.

Bill dealt her a half-smile before looking down at Charlotte. "She stopped crying."

"She likes your voice," Laura told him with an impish grin that reminded him of his Laura.

He smiled and handed the baby back to her. "I really should head over to CIC now that I'm no longer needed."

As he rose, she called after him. "I was hoping you'd call the chief so we could find the hole soon."

Bill paused at the door for a moment. Then he headed over to the phone and called the deck. Tyrol answered the phone. "What do you need, sir?"

"Chief, is that Raptor ready yet?" the admiral inquired.

"Yes, sir. I was just going to call you," the chief replied.

"In that case I'll be down in fifteen minutes," Adama stated.

The chief cleared his throat. "Sir, will you be bringing your uh… guest again?"

Adama glanced back at Laura. "I was planning on it."

Laura left the baby with Hannah, letting the girls wait in Adama's quarters again. Then he called Tigh to explain why he would be late for his shift. Eventually Adama and Laura reached the docking bay. The chief greeted them when they arrived. "It's space-worthy, but I'm still making repairs. I wouldn't spend more than two hours in it if I were you. It'll be ship-shape for six-hour flights by tomorrow."

"Noted," the admiral stated.

Tyrol led them over to the Raptor and Laura entered, followed by Bill. As the Raptor left the docking bay for open space with Adama flying, Laura pulled the hood of the gray robe back. "We need to scan for a disturbance in the dimensional boundary," she informed him.

He glanced at the modified panels and then back to her. "It's your ship. Perhaps you can tell me how to begin."

She sat down next to him at the other control panel. "This button here initiates the scanners, and this switch allows them to look for residue from weapons fire…"

Even after her brief tutorial, this 'Federation' technology still confused him. "How does the other admiral fair with this new technology?" he questioned.

Looking back at him, she smirked. "He didn't like it at first, insisting that everything should be done manually. Now he tolerates it."

"Somehow I'm not surprised," Adama responded as they continued scanning the area.

He glanced over at her again and watched as the smirk shifted to a pensive expression. Then her eyes focused on her hands and she sighed heavily. _I wonder what's bothering her_, he mused.

After an hour, Laura sat up straight as something beeped. "I think we've got something. From what I can tell, the hole should be right out there. Sometimes with these things, they're only visible with the human eye from one side," she told him, pointing to a space by a few pieces of debris.

She pushed a few other buttons and the window shifted to viewscreen mode. "I didn't realize it did that too," Adama remarked.

"It's one of the better functions," she replied.

"If it's only visible from the end that your daughter entered, what makes you so sure that it's not a one-way trip?" he inquired.

She rubbed her temples as she thought for a moment. "I guess we'll find out when we leave." The viewscreen illuminated the hole by creating a blue haze around it. "That's it!"

While he stared at the screen, processing what he was looking at, she stood to stretch. However, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed her waver a little and brace herself against a bulkhead. "Are you alright?" he probed.

She nodded, but winced as if the sensation of moving her head bothered her. "I'm just dizzy and a little nauseous."

He stood and moved toward her, stopping only when he could look her in the eyes. "It might be from your concussion. We'd better get you back to _Galactica_."

"That's probably wise," she sighed.

They returned and she pulled her hood back over her head as they docked. When they left, she was leaning on him for support. "Will you be alright?" he asked her just before they reached his quarters.

"Yes. I just need to lie down for a while," answered.

"If you feel worse, go see Cottle." Bill's tone left no room for argument.

Instead of retorting, Laura opened the door to Bill's quarters, finding Hannah lying on the couch next to a sleeping Charlotte. _She forgot to lock it this time,_ Bill mused. Hannah rose from the couch slowly, holding a hand on her forehead above her left eye. "Mom, I have a headache."

Laura looked over her shoulder at Bill. "What you gave me might be a little strong for her. Do you have something elseshe can take?"

"I should," he replied, turning toward his bathroom.

He retrieved aspirin for Hannah and then Laura took her daughters back to the guest quarters with her. Adama called Tigh and told the colonel that he would join him shortly in CIC. Later when he reached the room, the admiral resumed his duties, looking over data of the area. The recon missions had brought back reports of other star systems. Tigh glanced at one of the reports.

"This one looks promising," he commented, handing it to Adama.

His CO scanned the report. "Five planets orbiting a yellow middle-aged star. You could be right. We'll have to check out this one as soon as the other business is taken care of."

Saul knew what he meant and nodded. "How much longer?" he whispered.

"I'd say another day or so," Adama replied, not looking directly at Saul. _In the beginning, I wanted them gone. Now I'm not so sure. I'm probably just torturing myself, but I wish they'd stay longer_.

When he returned to his quarters after his shift, the phone rang. "Adama," he answered.

"It's me. I think it's best if we discuss plans regarding the Raptor and my departure," Laura suggested.

"That's fine. Come on over," he responded.

He left the door open for her. As she entered, she closed it behind her. Then he offered her tea. She accepted and sat on the couch while he remained standing. "Since we have the coordinates, it won't take much for me to fly the Raptor back through the hole. The problem will be sealing it."

"What do you mean?" he inquired.

She set the cup down and rubbed her neck, closing her eyes for a moment. "It needs to be sealed from both sides. I think some of the weapons you have might work, but they'll need to impact the spot at the same time as the Federation weapons and I'm not the most scientific person to be explaining all this."

"You're doing a better job than I would," he mentioned, sipping his tea.

She smiled wryly. "Thanks, but I'm planning on having people who actually know what they're talking about tell you what you need to do once I'm through the hole."

"Alright," he stated. He noticed that she continued rubbing her neck, turning her head from one side to the other. "How's your head?"

"Fuzzy," she answered.

He raised an eyebrow. "Have you seen Cottle yet?"

She shook her head, standing and placing the empty teacup on his desk. "I'll be fine."

"Maybe I could at least give you a hand with your neck," he offered.

Stepping behind her, he gently places his hands on her shoulders. She agreed and he began his ministrations. As he continued to work out the knots in her neck, she closed her eyes. "That feels good. It's been a long time since anyone's done this for me."

"Shame on them. Someone where you come from ought to know that it's good for stress relief," he remarked.

She chuckled. "You would think."

He had genuinely meant it as an offer of kindness, but the sudden proximity was playing tricks on his mind. She let a moan sneak out, which turned into that 'hum' sound that he had always liked. _This was a bad idea. How can I ever let her go after this?_

Then to his surprise she stepped out of his grasp and turned to face him. Her eyes regarded him with an odd intensity. Moving closer to him, she ran a hand through his hair, still keeping her eyes locked with his. Tears began to form in her eyes.

"What is it?" he asked with worry.

She shook her head and he reached out, wanting to wipe the tears away. Touching her face had been a mistake that he realized too late. His lips brushed hers gently, but the brief contact would not do for either of them. He leaned in again, capturing her lips with his. She moaned when he deepened the kiss, wrapping her other arm around his neck, pulling him closer while the hand still ruffled his hair. The two broke for air and rested their foreheads together.

"We… can't do this," he whispered hoarsely.

She sighed, moving back to look at his face. "I know. You're right. You're still grieving for your Laura."

His eyes continued to rake over her, even as he took a step backward. "And somewhere out there your Bill misses you, very much."

Putting a hand in front of her mouth to muffle a sob, she took a deep breath to compose herself before looking back at him. "I miss him too."

"You'll see him soon enough," Bill reassured her.

Laura shook her head. "That's not quite… you don't understand. Goodnight, Admiral."

She left quickly, leaving him to gape at her strange reaction. Pouring himself a glass of Ambrosia, he pondered the events of the day and was no closer to an answer as he went to bed.

(My thanks toMcGonagallFan, max72, Ceridwyn2, Mamabella, Mariel3, Alecandrain2, carolann, and murphycatf or reviewing :D)


	9. Seeing double

Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel.

Chapter 8: Seeing double, or A Tale of Two Bills

The next day the phone's ringing interrupted his morning shave. He quickly wiped the shaving cream off his face to answer it. "Adama."

"We've got a problem," Hannah's voice told him.

"Hannah, what's wrong?" he asked with worry.

"Mom's throwing up, I think Charlotte has a fever, and I don't feel very good either," the girl admitted.

"I'll be right there," he told her. He hung up the phone and hastily shrugged on his uniform top, buttoning it as he dashed toward the guest quarters.

Hannah sat on the couch holding Charlotte as Bill spotted Laura standing by the sink. He walked over to her and rested a hand on her shoulder, noticing the dark circles under her eyes. He felt a familiar flash of fear in the pit of his stomach. _Oh please, not this one too_. "You're all coming to Life Station."

"I'm not arguing today," she said quietly.

Adama called Cottle so that the doctor was not caught off-guard when they all appeared in his doorway. The doctor ran a few blood tests on Laura and Hannah while one of the nurses gave the baby something to reduce the fever.

The admiral decided to call Tigh. "I've… got a situation. I don't know how long I'll be."

Tigh snorted on the other end. "If she keeps making you late, you're gonna have to remind her which one of you still has a job. The other one never made you late."

"Just man the fort for a while longer," Bill told him before hanging up the phone.

Adama looked over from the waiting area as Cottle neared him. "How bad is it?"

Cottle sighed and shook his head. "Bad doesn't cover it."

"Does this one have cancer too?" Adama asked flatly.

"No, but if we don't get her back to where she came from, it'll kill her just the same. She and her daughters have a slightly different immune system than you and me. We have an immunity for something that they, for some reason I can't figure out, don't," Cottle explained.

"May I see her?" Adama asked.

"Sure," Cottle replied.

Bill moved the curtain to see Laura sitting on the bed, watching Hannah. "Hey."

She turned to face him, her lips morphing into that familiar smile. "Hey."

He sat down next to her. "We need to get you and the girls home. Jack says you're short an immunity here."

"I know. He said the same to me," Laura mentioned. Closing her eyes, she rubbed her temples.

"Can you fly?" Bill asked.

"I don't think so," she answered.

_Looks like I'm gonna be really late today_. "I'll fly your Raptor then."

She blinked, studying him for a moment. "Alright, but when we reach our destination, we need to switch to audio only messaging and either Hannah or I need to do the talking or they'll think you're a changeling."

He nodded. "Sounds reasonable."

Reaching over, she grasped one of his hands in hers. "Thank you. I'm sorry we've been such a burden to you."

With his other hand, he lifted her chin so that she looked at him. _I'll miss you_. "You're not a burden."

She smirked and chuckled softly. "Liar. I bet Saul is going to get all over your case if he hasn't already."

He chuckled too. "Yeah, but right now I don't mind."

Releasing his hand, she touches his face. "You realize that flying me back won't make saying goodbye any easier."

Gently he removed her hand from his face and kissed the top of it. "I know. There is one thing I'd like to know though. Who's the dying leader in your universe?"

She sighed, placing her hands in her lap. "You are."

He stared at her in shock for a moment before speaking again. "I suppose it makes sense now, Hannah telling me I should be in Life Station. Yesterday makes more sense too."

She nodded. "When I kissed you, I wasn't seeing you. I was seeing my husband healthy again. In a week or less, I'll be where you are."

"Then we'd better get you back as soon as possible so you can say goodbye properly," Bill concluded.

Soon the four of them were in the Raptor, headed for the hole. It took seconds to pass through and the space on the other side looked almost identical. As he piloted the Raptor though, a peculiar gray object came into his view. It reminded him of a gyroscope, with the ring spinning around a center.

"Laura, what's that?" he inquired.

She glanced up from the panel she had been resting on. "That's where we're going. It's a space station called Deep Space Nine."

On the other side of a small window, Colonel Kira Nerys paced the deck. She stopped in front of a gold-striped lieutenant. "Why can't we find them?"

The nervous young man turned to face the Bajoran. "Sir, the Cylons fired-"

"I know what was fired, but there should've been debris. I've been delaying telling the admiral, hoping that somehow they'd survived. Looks like it's time to face the music," she grumbled.

Just then the console beeped. "Sir, we've got a small ship heading toward us, Colonial Class. It could be hers."

Kira blinked. "Put it on the viewscreen. Scan for life signs."

The Raptor appeared as it neared the station. "Four life signs. Three female, one male, all human."

A brown-suited Bajoran officer sat up straighter. "Sir, they're hailing us, audio only."

"Put it through," Kira requested.

Laura's voice was identifiable, but weak. "Colonel Kira, this is President Laura Adama. I am in need of medical assistance. I also have a guest with me who requires a private audience."

"We're on our way, Madame President. Do you mind if I ask who's with you?" Kira inquired.

"I can't answer that right now," Laura replied.

As they waited in the docked Raptor for the door to open, Laura pulled the hood down on Bill's robe. "Hannah can hold Charlotte. I'm going to lean on you, but I'll do the talking."

"That would probably be best," he agreed.

The door opened and the two walked into the small hallway, followed by Hannah and Charlotte. Colonel Kira stood met them half way with a security team behind her. "Madame President, what happened? Where were you?"

"My daughters and I ended up in another universe, through a hole caused by a mixture of weapons fire. We need to seal that hole," Laura explained.

Kira nodded. "We'll look into it immediately. Hopefully we can-"

"I think 'immediately' may have to wait a moment. She and her daughters need medical attention first," Adama interrupted, feeling Laura sway while trying to hold onto him.

The colonel stared in disbelief. "Are you sure it was another universe?"

"Positive. Look you guys, can we talk about this in sickbay?" Hannah interjected.

"Of course," Kira responded. The others followed her to sickbay. Once they had arrived, she excused the security team. Dr. Bashir stood at seeing the group enter.

"Kira, what's going on?" the dark-haired doctor questioned in a curiously familiar accent.

"The president and her daughters need some help. I'm hoping the guest they brought with them can explain," Kira remarked.

Bill pulled his hood down to Bashir's astonishment. "So the changelings are-"

"He's not a changeling; he's from another universe," Laura commented to the brown-haired doctor.

"It's a long story, but my doctor said that they were missing some sort of immunity that people in my universe had," Bill mentioned.

"Let me see...," Bashir said as he held the tricorder over Laura and her daughters. "You've all contracted some sort of virus, but it's easily treatable."

He held the hypospray to Laura's neck and then to Hannah's. After they had been injected, he applied a smaller one to the baby.

Adama watched Bashir for a moment. _I wonder if Baltar has cousins in this universe_. Then he looked around the room. "Mind if I ask where the other Bill is?"

"_Galactica_. He prefred to spend his final days in a familiar place," Laura answered, her gaze fixed on the floor.

"If you've got all this medical technology, why can't you just cure him?" Adama questioned.

Bashir faced him. "It's not just cancer. He has somethign ten times more aggressive that we've never seen before. The one thing I have been able to deduce is that it's from an inherent gene that your people have. It surfaces every several generations."

Suddenly a young man wearing a suit of sorts with a dark blue vest instead of a uniform entered the room. He turned toward Kira. "Nerys, I came here as soon as I-" he stopped, seeing Adama. "Changelings?"

Kira shook her head. "Jake, this is Admiral Adama from another universe. I figured you'd want to know what's going on. Admiral, this is Jake Sisko. His father was the previous officer in charge of this station."

Adama nodded, extending his hand. Jake shook it, continuing to stare. "Mind if I ask how you got here?"

Laura looked over at him. "The better question would be where have I been and why he is here."

"Something tells me this is going to be quite a story," Jake remarked.

"Hannah, Charlotte, and I were running from the Cylons in the modified Raptor. They were shooting at us and somehow the mixture of weapons fire created a spacial tear. We ended up in his universe. The Raptor we had used needed repairs, and it took a while to relocate the hole. But after being over there for a few days, all three of us became ill, and the admiral had to fly us back," Laura explained.

"Sorry I missed the baseball game, Jake," Hannah commented.

Jake smiled at her. "No problem. We've got another game scheduled next week."

Hannah beamed. "Cool!"

Adama turned toward Laura and raised an eyebrow. "'Cool?'"

"It's Earth-slang," she answered.

Kira cleared her throat and everyone turned their attention toward her. "I believe we should discuss fixing that hole."

Adama nodded. "Tell me what I need to do."

"Is there a way to have Cylon fire from your side without starting another battle?" Kira began. It was then that Adama noticed the lines on her nose.

"I hope you don't mind my asking, but why is your nose like that?" Bill asked.

"I'm Bajoran, from a different Alpha Quadrant race than Earthlings," she replied.

"If you're an alien, then why are we able to understand each other?" he inquired.

"Our combadges," she paused to gesture toward the pin-like 'A' shape with the ring around it, "have universal translator capabilities so that we can call communicate. Now, about the Cylons…" Kira pulled the conversation back to where she wanted it.

"In my universe, they're actually our allies. I can talk to the rebel baseship with us," he relayed.

Kira nodded. "Here's what needs to happen: you match the weapons frequency of the Cylons to those of the modified Raptor, firing at the hole at the same time. The Cylons will shoot from your side while someone on our side operates the Raptor."

"I think we can work with that," Adama remarked.

Laura looked back to Bashir. "Julian, if I'm free to go, I'd like to see my husband."

"Normally I'd warn you that the virus isn't completely out of your system yet, but since he's only got a few days left, you shouldn't wait to see him," the doctor recommended.

"I want to bring the girls with me. Hannah deserves a chance to say goodbye, and I can't leave Charlotte alone," she mentioned. Then she faced Adama. "I'd like you to come with us as well."

Adama shook his head. "I need to head back. Besides, you really think your husband wants to see his double?"

She rested a hand on his shoulder, leaning closer so that no one aside from him would hear her words. "It would've almost been easier if he'd died while we were in your universe. I need a friend who'll make sure I'm still standing at the end of this."

He looked back at her, regarding the sad, lost look in her eyes. "Alright, let's go."

The admiral used the Raptor to fly Laura and her daughters over to Galactica. Laura spoke to Helo as they docked. Then the group was led to Life Station, Adama still wearing the hooded robe. He stood back as Laura and her daughters spoke with their Dr. Cottle and walked over to a man on a bed.

Adama watched as Laura kissed the other Bill's bald head and then kissed his lips soundly. Hannah hugged him and Laura placed Charlotte in his arms. The man listened with interest as Hannah talked animatedly. Then Laura said something to Hannah and the girl took the baby over to the waiting area. The man on the bed glanced over at Adama and then whispered something to Laura. She stood, walking back to Adama.

Though no tears marked her soft cheeks, her eyes were red and puffy. "He wants to see you," she stated.

The admiral slowly nodded, walking over to the man in the bed. He took in the gauntness of the man's face, the sunken eyes. _We looked more like father and son than the same person. No wonder his family thought I was a Cylon_, Adama reasoned.

Bill pulled himself to a sitting position, the effort obviously taxing as his face scrunched for a moment in pain. "Sit," he instructed. "I understand your Laura is gone."

Adama took the chair by the bed. "Yes."

"My condolensces," the other Bill replied.

"What do you want from me?" Adama questioned.

"You know yourself too well," the other man wheezed. "Tell me about your fleet. Laura said that the Cylons are your allies now. Mind explaining that one?"

"Yes, but you won't take 'no' for an answer. The Cylons have two factions, those that think they ought to be in charge of the universe, and those that side with humans and want to work with us. Just because we're allies doesn't mean that I trust them at all though," Adama relayed.

"We managed to chase off the Raiders in the last scuff, but they'll be back, and this Federation that we've found out here needs to be ready. Who have you got that can take charge of your fleet over there?" Bill asked.

"Tigh, Helo, Gaeta, Dee, even Lee if it's an emergency, though he left the military," Adama replied.

"Lee's alive?" Bill questioned, wonder and shock in his tone.

Adama nodded. "He's president at the moment."

"And you still have Saul Tigh," Bill recalled.

"Yes," Adama responded.

Bill shook his head. "Fool."

"Me or you?" Adama inquired.

The man in the bed smirked. "Heh, I guess I meant both of us, me for airlocking him, and you for keeping him around. Do you believe he's capable of running your fleet, even though he's a Cylon?"

"Cylon or not, he is still Saul Tigh, and I trust him," Adama answered. "What about the rest of the Final Five."

"Four. We never found the fifth one. Tyrol is the only one alive, and he's taking care of his son. He's the exception that I didn't have to worry about, him and Boomer along with Athena. Kat was killed in a Viper accident shortly after we found Earth. Tory Foster hanged herself."

A hacking cough interrupted his story. He resumed it after a few minutes. "You can't negotiate with the Cylons in this universe. They tried to trap us into following them to their resurrection hub. It was one big setup, from half of them faking to be on our side to them wanting to settle peaceably anywhere. The Cylons here want every human dead," Bill answered.

"We don't know who the fifth one- wait, did you say 'Kat?'"

"Yes. Isn't she a Cylon in your universe too?"

Adama sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair. "She died from radiation poisoning long before we were aware of the Final Five. Our other Cylon is Sam Anders."

Bill closed his eyes for a moment. "Anders, Anders, ah. He was one of the people that Kara met when she went to Caprica to bring back the Arrow of Apollo. He was killed helping her get back to her ship."

"At least we finally have a few answers," Adama commented.

"I need someone to run this fleet," Bill stopped to draw in a deep breath. "Helo's alright with leadership, but I don't want him in charge of the whole fleet. Our Gaeta was killed in an accident onboard the Demetrius. Zack's a good XO, but I don't think he's ready to run the fleet. Dee has twin boys to look after. These Federation people don't know how to deal with the Cylons. You do. You and Laura are the only people that our branch of humanity sees as their leader."

"What about Baltar?" Adama brought up.

"That man has been dead in this universe since the end of New Caprica. He was assassinated," Bill told him.

Suddenly the man in the bed was pulled into a coughing spasm. Adama handed him a glass of water. "Thank you. I need to say this before I can't. I know I'm asking a lot of you, but I need you to lead my fleet."

"I'm leading my own fleet," Adama reminded.

Bill scowled. "You don't get it. In your universe, you've found Earth and have come to a compromise with the Cylons. You have people capable of taking over for you. I don't, and there's too much I still need to do."

"How could I pass for you? I've got at least twenty pounds on you and hair," Adama pointed out.

"You'd be surprised how much the uniform actually hides. As for the hair, Laura insisted that I wear a wig- toupee, whatever you want to call it. The hair piece was grayer than I would've liked, much like your hair is now," Bill remarked.

Adama shook his head. "Even if I could pass as 'the Admiral,' there's still your family to consider."

"That's the second reason why I need you here. I want you to look after my family. I've got two grandchildren and one on the way, a son who's not ready to be head of the family, an almost teenage step-daughter who tries to be head of the family, two daughter-in-laws, and a six-month-old daughter who's too young to know what's going on and only knows that you sound like her dad," Bill mentioned.

"You can't seriously expect me to replace you," Adama continued to argue.

"My family can have a private service for me. I want you to protect my family," Bill insisted.

Adama rested his hands on his knees. "And Laura? How is she going to feel with me staying here?"

"She's a strong woman, but you know she needs a certain amount of support. You're the only one who can hold her together in all the things she deals with as president," Bill told him.

"I can't just assume your life," Adama pursued.

Bill glared back at him. "I need you to. Promise me you'll protect them."

Adama dealt him the same glare. "What you're asking is-"

"Promise me."

Adama took a long look at Bill, seeing the conviction and fortitude in his eyes. _He's asking me to trade my life for his, just to disappear while my people try to eek out an existence in that solar system. I suppose Lee doesn't really need me. He hasn't for a while. Cylon or not, I trust Saul and Helo can follow as XO. My Laura is in a better place. His Laura has two daughters, one who especially needs a father. Am I really considering this? Maybe I should stop all this analyzing and figure out which side needs me more_.

His gaze moved from the man on the bed over to Laura, hearing Charlotte cry again. Laura stood, rocking the wailing baby in her arms, humming an old Caprican lullaby. Suddenly he had his answer.

Adama faced Bill again, this time with certainty written in his face. "I promise to protect them with every fiber of my being."

(My thanks to Mamabella, McGonagallFan, Alecandrain2, sosayweall, max72, carolann, and Mariel3 for reviewing :D)


	10. Troubled waters

Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel. (A/N: The time period for DS9 is directly after the war with the Dominion).

Chapter 9: Troubled waters

When Adama left the other Bill, he found Laura talking to the other Cottle. "He's got about two days."

She turned as Adama approached. "I need to stay here with my husband."

"Understandable," he replied. He glanced over at Cottle's office and then back to her. "Could I have a word with you?"

Cottle offered to take the baby. Then Laura followed Adama into the doctor's private office. "What did he say to you?" she asked.

Adama sighed heavily before facing her. "He wants me to take his place."

Laura opened her mouth to say something, but then stopped, pausing to think. After a long silence, she turned back to him. "He told me nothing about this. But then the last few weeks he's been making decisions without talking to me much. He wanted to personally make sure that his affairs were in order."

Adama paced the small room. "Since he didn't tell you, it's only fair if I ask you. How would you feel about me staying here?"

She folded her hands in her lap. "I wouldn't have considered it, but I can understand why he's asked you. Zack's not ready to lead the military."

"That wasn't what I asked though," he reminded.

"It would be the best scenario for Charlotte," Laura responded.

Adama cleared his throat. "But how do you feel about it?"

Laura's eyes misted as she took a deep breath. "I was ready to let him go. And then I met you, and everything's changed."

_Same here_. "If you don't want me here, I'll go back, despite what I've told him," Adama remarked.

She choked back a sob. "I don't want you to go. I can't lose you twice."

Seeing her cry, he pulled her into a hug. Her body shook with sobs as she grasped his uniform, holding on to something sturdier than she felt. Then she regained her breathing and pulled back to smooth the wrinkles from her clothes.

He placed a hand on her shoulder. "I need to take care of a few things on _Galactica_. Then I'll be back."

After he had flown the Raptor back to Deep Space Nine, Adama spoke with Kira, telling her of the change in plans. Kira was surprised, but agreed, also giving him a couple of replicators to take back with him to help with their food problem. She walked him to the Raptor, but stopped him before he opened the door.

"There's another group you need to be aware of. They're called the Borg. I don't know if the president's told you anything about them, but long range sensors have indicated brief appearances of cubes," Kira mentioned.

Adama shot her a puzzled expression. "I haven't heard anything about them."

"They're part organic, part machine, similar in some ways to your Cylons, but their machinery is visible from the outside. They take a normal person and assimilate him or her, which means they implant the person with machinery and everyone's minds are linked together. What I'm trying to say is that they're dangerous and it could be very bad if they get to your universe," she explained.

He nodded. "Thanks for the warning."

Then he took the Raptor back through the hole to his _Galactica_. He arranged to have Saul and Lee meet him in his quarters. The two men arrived to see him packing. "Dad, what's going on?" Lee asked.

Adama turned to face them. "In order to close the hole, someone has to shoot at it from the other side."

"This has something to do with _her_, doesn't it?" Saul assessed.

Adama slowly answered, "Yes. Here is what we'll do: I'll take the Raptor back through the hole and fire at it while at the same time the rebel Cylons on this side will also fire at it." He handed the XO a piece of paper. "They need to set their weapons to this frequency in order for this to work."

Hearing a knock at the door, the admiral turned and opened it. Tory stood, looking from him to the others. Tigh spoke. "I forgot to mention that the baseship arrived after you left."

"We would like some answers," Tory mentioned.

Not wanting to make a scene in the hall, Adama ushered her into his quarters and shut the hatch. Then he glared at Tory. "After what you did, I don't owe you, or the Cylons anything."

The woman sighed, physically taking a step back. "I suppose I deserved that. However, D'Anna is demanding an explanation for what I've reported to her. She doesn't believe the 'prank' story."

Tigh handed her the piece of paper. "Then tell her to set her weapons to that frequency and wait for the admiral to give the command."

"We're closing a hole between universes so the Cylons on the other side who have nothing better to do than attack the humans don't get through," Adama admitted.

The former aide sighed, studying the paper. "Alright, I'll tell her. She won't be happy about being left out of the loop for so long though."

She exited the room with the colonel glaring after her. "Should've put that one in the brig."

Adama placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Maybe so, but we're trying to coexist, and that wouldn't have helped."

"Doesn't mean I have to like it," Saul grumbled. "I should be getting back to CIC."

"The two of you can see me off at the docking bay later," Adama suggested.

After Tigh had left, Lee crossed his arms, leaning back against the bulkhead. "I know it's redundant to ask this again, but I'm going to anyway. Why are you doing this?"

Bill sighed heavily as he studied his son. _He can hold his own, and someday he'll understand_. "Because I can't live without her."

"But dad, our Laura is gone. You can't just- I mean the fleet needs you. You're the admiral. You can't seriously be considering this," Lee argued.

"I am considering this, Lee. Their fleet needs an admiral more than ours does. With you, Saul, Helo, and Starbuck, this fleet will be fine. The other fleet has more enemies. And," he paused, hoping that Lee could grasp what he was telling him, "she can't live without him either. In their universe, he's the dying leader."

Lee rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I can't say I agree with this, but I won't try to stop you."

The older man drew his son into a hug. "When you come to the docking bay, bring Starbuck," he said as they parted.

Before Lee left, Bill told him about the replicators and how to use them. Two hours later, as Bill was about to head toward the docking bay, Tory stopped him. "What do you want, Miss Foster? I don't have much time."

She faced the floor as she answered. "I owe you an apology. I have done a great deal of thinking lately. Though I do not regret what I am, I do regret that I betrayed Laura. Let me come with you. I owe Laura Roslin."

Adama eyed her incredulously. "You really think I'd trust you enough to let you betray more humans to more Cylons?"

Tory shook her head. "I'll help you destroy them. Infect me with the Cylon virus."

"Why would you destroy your own kind?" he drilled.

"Because they are defective. We were designed to coexist with humans, not to destroy them. The problem must be corrected," she expressed.

A chill shot up his spine at the implications of 'corrected.' _I don't trust her at all, but if she's with me, then she's no longer a threat to the fleet_. "Very well, Miss Foster. You may board the Raptor when I do."

Before leaving, Adama had one more visit to make. He slipped quietly into the morgue, walking toward the familiar drawer. Slowly he pulled it out, noting that the preservation elements in the cool air were still doing their job. "I know if you could, you'd question me too. But the fact is that they don't need me here nearly as much as she will. I will always love you. Nothing will ever change that. But I have to do this. She needs my help in ways that you never did."

He did not realize that he had been crying until a tear feel onto her suit. He wiped his face with one hand and brushed off the damp spot with the other. "Sorry." He sat in the room for a moment longer before he felt a slight prickling sensation at his neck, causing him to look from her to the door. A feeling of relief descended on him as he thought, _she's telling me 'It's okay, you can go.'_

At the docking bay Saul, Kara, and Lee stood to see Adama off. The three glared at Tory as they spotted her near his Raptor though. "What's _she_ doing here?" Kara whispered.

Adama glanced back at her. "I'm taking her with me to keep an eye on her. I think she's up to something and if she's with me, then she won't be a problem to you anymore."

Kara sighed and crossed her arms. "I don't like it, sir. But then I don't like you leaving us either. Lee filled me in and, sure, I can see why you'd want to go, but we'll really miss the 'Old Man.'"

He smiled kindly at his almost-daughter, brushing a piece of hair back behind her ear as he had done on Kobol. "I'll miss you too. Keep an eye on Lee here, and make sure his head doesn't get too big, being president."

She smirked as Adama faced his son. "Take good care of our people. And you have my instructions on where to bury our Laura. I'm proud of you, all of you, and she would be too."

Kara and Lee hugged Bill and then stepped back as Bill spoke with Saul. "Take care of the fleet."

Saul nodded. "I'll keep an eye on those two as well," he mentioned, nodding back toward Lee and Kara.

"Thank you," Bill stated. Then he placed a hand on his old friend's shoulder. "I'm trusting you to make the right decisions."

"I know. And I'll do the best I can, sir. With Caprica and the baby, I'm learning a whole new definition of responsibility," Saul remarked.

Bill grinned. "Family will do that to you."

As the Raptor left the deck, Bill took one last look at his family. _They'll be okay_. Then he took the controls while Tory took the other seat. "Now, Miss Foster, what is this really about?"

Tory folded her hands in her lap. "What do you mean, sir?"

He faced her and raised an eyebrow. "I know this isn't wholly out of guilt. Why are you really here?"

She looked at the baseship as the Raptor headed toward the hole. "The Cylons dislike traitors even less than the humans. You see, they discovered that I helped to hide the Agathons' child from them. They consider it an unforgivable betrayal and refused to have me on their ship anymore."

"So D'Anna made sent you to Galactica as a liaison because the Cylons don't want you on their ship?" Adama questioned.

Tory nodded. "At first, they were pleased that I joined their side, but then a Six told them that I had helped Roslin hide Hera."

"That doesn't explain why you'd rather come with me," Adama reminded.

"I can't stay with your people either. They all know what I've done," she expressed.

He glanced at the controls as they drifted through the hole. "What about Baltar?"

"Gaius has all those other women around him. Even though he would accept me, they want to kill me," she told him.

Adama reached into his pocket and pulled out a glace vial. "I know you didn't inject yourself with the virus because I stopped by Life Station before heading to the docking bay. Just what were you intending to do, Miss Foster?"

(My thanks to Mamabella, GimmeABeat, McGonagallFan, Alecandrain2, max72, Mariel3, carolann, and Vehiek for reviewing :D)


	11. With every fiber

Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel.

Chapter 10: With every fiber

Tory glanced down at her hands, fidgeting in her seat like a child called to the principal's office. "I was… hoping to lose myself in a new society, to disappear. I understand that I could have a double running about-"

"Your double's dead," he told her bluntly.

"Oh," she paused, looking back at him.

The console crackled with a transmission. "We'll finish this discussion later," he told her before answering the call. "Colonel Kira, is that you?"

"Yes. Do your Cylons have the frequency?" she asked.

He checked the scanners and cleared his throat. "Affirmative, and they are ready to fire when we are."

"Good. There should be two additional shuttles by your position. They are ordered to fire when you do," she added.

The transmission ended and he told the Cylon baseship to fire. As he also began to fire, the shuttles followed suit. Through the modified scanners on the Raptor, he could see a bluish patch building. To the eye, it would still look like normal space, but with the scanners, he could see when it was patched. As they finished, he aimed the Raptor toward Deep Space Nine. _No going back now_, he thought to himself.

He turned back to Tory as the Raptor moved toward the space station. "So you lied to me. I almost thought you might be serious when you said you owed Laura Roslin. What about that?"

Tory averted her gaze again. "I wasn't lying about that part."

"Then I hope you understand why I have to leave you in whatever sort of brig they have," he told her.

"I shouldn't have expect any other option from you," she retorted.

Both remained silent until the Raptor reached the docking port. Kira stood to greet him again, eyeing him with surprise when he led Tory out toward her, wearing a hooded robe like his. "She needs to be placed in your brig. I don't trust her at all," Adama mentioned.

Kira put her hands up. "That's fine. Like I told the other admiral, your people, your call."

When the colonel led them to the brig, Adama stared at a few aliens in what appeared to be open rooms. "Colonel, how do you keep them in there without bars?"

She led Tory over to a cell. Once the former aide was seated, Kira touched a panel to the side and a static-like flash passed in front of the cell. Kira looked over her shoulder at Adama. "We use force-fields instead of bars."

"Interesting," Adama responded, clearing his throat again. After they had left the cell, he spoke again. "I'd like to know more about the Borg."

"Follow me," Kira motioned. She led him to her office and then accessed the database on her computer. A few pictures of Borg drones appeared.

After reading for a while, Adama looked back to Kira. "Have any ever tried to defect, to join your side?"

Kira paced her office for a moment. "The Borg don't work that way. They act like a collective mind. Once assimilated, their victims lose their individuality. It's one of the things that makes them so dangerous. The only way a drone regains individuality is to be physically separated from the Collective."

"I see. The Cylons bomb humans out of existence while the Borg steal their lives," he stated.

The colonel returned to the desk, spreading her arms out, leaning forward on it. "We can't let the Borg fined the Cylons. With that kind of technology, the Borg could hide their equipment and wander around on planets, looking like you and me, and then they could simply just walk up and assimilate people."

"How do you recommend that we stop them, Colonel?" Adama probed, clearing his throat again.

She sighed heavily. "I don't know yet, but I'm open to suggestions."

He removed the vial from his pocket. "This is a sample of a Cylon plague that we found. Our own doctor told us that it's a sample of a disease that humans are now immune to."

"Would you be opposed to having that analyzed?" she inquired.

"Go right ahead," he replied.

They took the vial to sickbay to have Dr. Bashir examine its contents. "Hmm. Very interesting. This is a strain of what appears to be the Bubonic Plague."

"What's that?" Kira asked.

Bashir looked up from the console. "It was a disease spread by fleas during various time periods on Earth, only it's been altered. This not only causes illness, the affect it would have on something with inorganic processing capabilities would be a breakdown of the neural pathways."

Kira watched the monitor showing different colors of the components in the vial. "Do you think we can infect the Borg with it?"

"It's never been done before. Because of how they are made, the Borg are more machine when it comes to their immune systems. Frankly, I'm not sure how a virus might affect them," Bashir answered.

"So these Borg are," Adama paused to clear his throat, "more computer-based than organic?"

Bashir nodded. "They assimilate people using nanoprobes, miniature robots that invade the body and implant chips, converting it to Borg parameters, including the collective consciousness that allows the Borg to think as one."

"I'm sure this is going to sound a bit dim on my part, but haven't you people tried sending a computer virus?" the admiral asked, biting back a slight cough.

"I believe so, but that's – I should've thought of it before," the doctor paused, facing the colonel. "Nerys, what if we tried both? We find a way to send a computer virus along with a sample of what the admiral has brought us."

"Then it's worth a try," Kira stated, pacing again. "However, the problem is how are we going to get it to them? It's not like we're going to find a volunteer who wants to commit suicide to destroy the Borg."

Bashir accessed the computer's information on the Borg. After a few minutes, he looked back at Kira. "The Borg recycle their injured or dead back into the system. All we would need really is a corpse. With the right cortical and motion stimuli, it would be possible to mimic someone being alive. We could then beam the body directly onto a cube. In theory, they would try to assimilated it, discover that they cannot use it, and when the body is recycled, both viruses could be integrated within the system."

The Bajoran shook her head. "I don't like it, Julian. First of all, it isn't as if we have a regular collection of bodies. Secondly, what about family ties? It's too complicated to ask family members to donate their relatives to something like this."

"What about a bomb?" Adama suggested.

Kira thought for a moment. "I suppose we could look into making some kind of bomb that can maybe spray the Cylon virus before it detonates."

"We might also equip it with something to hack into the computer system to implant our other virus," Bashir suggested.

"Do what you need to do," Kira responded. Then she turned to the Adama. "Would you like a glass of water, Admiral?"

"Yes, thank you. I'm probably not used to whatever you use to recycle your air," he mentioned.

Bashir considered scanning him when the station alarm sounded. "I think our friends are here," Kira said sarcastically.

As she left sickbay, Adama and Bashir followed her to the control center of the station. One of the Bajorans stood as she entered. "Sir, the Cylons have appeared."

"Weapons stations online. Raise shields," Kira ordered.

Adama stepped over to her. "I should be back on my ship, doing what you're doing."

She nodded and looked back at Bashir. "Go ahead and beam him over."

The admiral raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by 'beam?'"

"Come with me, Admiral. I'll explain on the way," Bashir told him. As they took the turbolift to the transporter room, the doctor briefly continued their discussion. "We have the technology to send matter from one point to another. Basically the components of the body are broken down into a microscopic bio-pattern and sent along an energy stream to another point."

_It sounds really unappealing_. "Couldn't I just take the Raptor back?" Adama asked.

"Don't worry. It doesn't hurt and everything will be fine," Bashir relayed.

The doctor led him to a room, up to a platform with circles to stand in. "You should probably send me somewhere near Life Station," Adama mentioned. The other man nodded and suddenly a bright light surrounded the admiral, accompanied by a scratchy warm feeling, like being trapped inside a wool sweater.

He appeared inside of Cottle's office. The door opened and Cottle dropped his clipboard. Catching his breath, he glared back at the admiral. "You sure know how to make an entrance."

Adama rested a hand on the desk to steady himself, then he coughed a bit. "That was one heck of a ride. The Cylons are back and I thought I should be over here."

The admiral tried to suppress the cough, but the effort only made it worse. Cottle shook his head. "You can't stay well for two seconds."

"I'm not… sick. It's from… the air filtration… system on the space… station," Adama protested.

The doctor rolled his eyes. "You do what you need to do, then I want you back here for X-rays."

Adama nodded. "Just need to get to CIC."

He started to leave the room as Cottle caught his arm. "Remember, you've gotta fake like you're dying. If anyone asks, I let you out against my better judgment."

As the two men exited the office, Adama's eyes scanned the area. "Where's Laura?"

"The other admiral sent her to CIC, said it was where she needed to be in a battle," Cottle replied.

"And her daughters?" Adama questioned.

"Hannah's reading to him and the little one's asleep," the doctor told him.

Adama reached CIC with remarkable speed for a dying man. Fortunately everyone else was already stations wherever he or she needed to be. He stopped just inside the doorway of CIC to battle a hacking cough. Laura looked up from the lower center as he made his way toward her. She met him halfway with a reproachful glare.

"Bill, are you out of your frakking mind? What the hell are you doing out of Life-" at that moment, her eyes widened. In the dim light she had mistaken him for _her_ Bill. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"The Federation… succeeded in closing the hole. I was on the station when your Cylons showed up. I thought… that I should be in CIC," Adama explained.

She sighed. "_He_ told me that I should be here, that as a leader of our people, now was not the time to keep a deathbed vigil."

"He has a point," Adama agreed as they slowly walked toward the center of the room.

As he coughed again, she took hold of his right arm. "You're a better actor than I would've given you credit for. I don't think I could fake a cough that realistically."

Spotting a tissue box sitting on the counter behind him, he placed a tissue over his mouth as he continued to cough. Absently he noticed that when he removed the tissue, there were blood spots. He quickly stuffed it into his pocket so that she did not see it. "I'm not faking anything. The air filtration system on the space station doesn't agree with me."

"Mom, what's going on?" a voice behind Laura asked.

Adama looked passed her to see a face that he had not seen for several years. Spotting the rank of a captain on the uniform collar, Adama noted that his son Zack had the golden hair from his biological mother's side of the family, along with his father's blue eyes. Bill found himself unable to look away. Laura turned to face him. "Zack, we've got a lot to talk about, but later."

Zack looked at Adama and shook his head. "You never could stay out of a battle."

"Some things are too important to avoid," Adama answered.

The admiral took a moment to look past his son to see the current CIC crew, knowing already that he would not see Tigh. Dee sat at her usual post, as did Helo. However, there were less officers than he was used to seeing, and Gaeta was missing. "Where's Starbuck?" he asked Laura.

Zack spoke. "She's on maternity leave, Dad. Remember?"

At this Adama raised an eyebrow, looking back to Laura, who nodded. "Right," he stated.

Then the admiral turned his attention to the viewscreen and the DRADIS. Vipers had already been launched and the Cylon baseships were firing on Deep Space Nine. Adama faced Laura. "How many nukes do you think their space station can stand?"

She chewed her lower lip. "I don't know."

"Dee, see if you can get Colonel Kira on the wireless," he ordered.

"Yes, sir," she replied.

After a pause, he heard Kira's voice. "What do you need, Admiral? We're a little busy at the moment."

"I understand that, and we're heading toward you to help. How are your shields holding up?" he asked.

The com crackled as she spoke again. "Cylon nukes are affecting the shield's polarity. We're doing the best we can."

He fixed his gaze on the viewscreen as the transmission ended. "We're not going to stand back here for this battle. Helo, Captain Adama, arm nuclear warheads and prepare to fire."

_Galactica_ moved closer to the Cylon fleet and Adama spotted a resurrection ship. "Laura, was the Cylon Hub destroyed in this universe?" he asked in a whisper.

She shook her head. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Adama began firing at the enemy. However, the Cylons, rather than deciding to continue the fight, retreated. "Why are they just leaving?" Zack questioned.

"Probably… going to… regroup. We… can't let our… guard down," Adama mentioned, coughing again.

Laura took his left arm. "Bill, I think it's time we got you back to Life Station."

Adama nodded. "It's yours, Zack," he said as he let Laura lead him out of CIC.

(My thanks to Idellis65, Mamabella, carolann, Alecandrain2, and McGonagallFan for reviewing :D)


	12. Adequate, but insufficient

Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel.

Chapter 11: Adequate, but insufficient

"I should've… asked this… earlier, but what… is Zack's call sign?" Adama asked Laura as they walked to Life Station.

Laura shook her head. "I'll tell you later. Right now you'll laugh and it'll only make your cough worse."

"You… owe me… later," he told her.

She smirked. "Even when you're sick, you still manage to tease me."

He returned her smirk. "I… learned from… the best."

As they entered Life Station, Cottle gave him a disapproving glare. "Took you long enough. What's going on out there?"

Laura answered. "The Cylons have retreated for a moment."

"Good. Let's get you X-rayed," Cottle told Adama.

A few minutes later, the three of them looked at his X-rays as they hung on the light screen. "It doesn't look like cancer," Laura remarked.

"That's because it's not," Cottle replied. "He's got fluid in his lungs. It's more like pneumonia, except worse. What I can't figure out is how he got it."

"I thought… it was from… the air… filtration… system on the space station," Adama interjected.

Cottle raised an eyebrow. "Air filtration systems can't do this. They take pathogens that cause things like this _out _of the air."

Laura looked back at the doctor. "How is my husband?"

"It's the usual with him, but actually he heard that this one," he paused, pointing to Adama, "came back and he wants to talk to him."

_Just great. I'll have to fake that I'm fine_, Adama thought as he headed over to where the other Bill was staying. Cottle had kept most of the staff busy so that they had not noticed the multiple admirals. They stopped by the bed and Adama took the chair again.

Bill turned to face him. "What happened with the battle?"

"The Cylons have retreated for the moment," Adama replied.

The other Bill drew in a labored breath. "I hope you've got an extra plan up your sleeve."

Adama cleared his throat and Laura quickly handed him a glass of water. "Sort of."

Just then a nurse sauntered over and placed a hand on Laura's shoulder. "Ma'am, I'm sorry to bother you, but I can't get the baby to stop crying."

Laura faced her. "I'll be right there, Marla." She and the nurse left the area while the two Bills continued.

"I've got a sample of a Cylon virus that was taken from dying Cylons onboard a baseship that we found drifting. I'd rather not use that if I don't have to though," Adama explained.

Bill wheezed from the bed. "We blew up that baseship. It wasn't worth investigating. So you've got a an actual virus that'll make them sick? Sounds promising. Who'd you bring back with you to test it on?"

Adama's eyes widened. "I don't know how you figured that out, but I did bring Tory Foster back with me. I wanted to keep an eye on her."

"You're a tactician. A military man knows he's got to keep his options open, so of course you brought somebody back with you. I'm you, remember? I would've done the same thing. The question is why you haven't used this before," Bill pointed out.

"It's genocide to use it because it'll destroy not only the Cylon it affects, but if the Cylon is close to the resurrection ship, it'll destroy the entire model, along with infecting the resurrection ship," Adama explained, taking a breath to supress the cough he felt creeping up.

The other Bill folded his hands in his lap. "You don't seem to understand. The Cylons in this universe are different than the ones in yours. What I didn't tell you earlier when we discussed the Final Five was that each one tried to kill someone, except Tyrol. Tigh tried to assassinate me. Tory went after Laura, and that was after she had already killed Cally Tyrol. She was in a cell when she hanged herself. Kat tried to kill Starbuck. The Cylons here want to eradicate the humans."

"What about Boomer and Athena?" Adama reminded.

Bill waved it off. "A fluke in the system. My point is that you can't give these Cylons a choice. You have to decide what's best for humanity, and it isn't to coexist with these machines. Maybe… it worked… in your universe, but… it won't work… in this… one. Then there's… the Borg…" another coughing spasm interrupted the other Bill's oration

"Yes, Colonel Kira has told me," Adama mentioned.

"Go back to the station," the other Bill ordered. "Dismissed."

Adama frowned as he stood, walking back to Cottle's office. Laura joined him shortly, noticing his expression. "What's wrong?"

"It's weird being dismissed by yourself," Adama finally stated.

Laura smirked. "As they say around here in Starfleet, 'weird is part of the job.'"

"I… suppose. I'm… going… back to… the space station," Adama concluded.

Laura nodded. "I'm coming with you to see that you stay on your feet long enough to reach sickbay."

Cottle called Bashir on a secure channel. Then Adama and Laura were beamed to the transporter room. Due to a signal complication, they could not beam directly to sickbay. As they stepped off the transporter pad, he faced Laura. "Oddly enough, I feel better here than I did on _Galactica_."

"Then the air filtration system wasn't your problem," she concluded.

Jake greeted them. "What's going on?"

Laura sighed. "We don't know yet. I need to get him to sickbay."

True to her word, Laura made sure that Adama was standing as he reached Dr. Bashir. The doctor looked up in surprise when the two entered. "Admiral, what can I do for you?" he asked.

Adama removed the hood of the robe he had put on again. "I've got… a bit… of a problem."

Bashir led the two over to a private room away from everyone else. Once Adama was sitting on the biobed, the doctor lifted up a tricorder to scan him. "You've contracted some mutated form of pneumonia."

"My doctor told me that much," Adama mentioned.

"Can't you help him?" Laura implored.

The doctor turned toward her. "I'm afraid it's not that simple. I can ease the symptoms, but from what I'm looking at, it will just come back."

"Am I missing some immunity then? Or are you going to tell me that I can't live in this universe now?" the admiral grumbled.

"No, your immune system should be functioning properly," the doctor answered.

Laura's eyes widened. "Would it have something to do with the fact that the other Bill Adama is the dying leader here?"

Bashir shook his head. "That shouldn't affect… wait. There are two of them here. I think I see the problem. There is a theory that states, 'an object cannot occupy two points in the same timeline.' You're ill because two of you cannot simultaneously exist here indefinitely."

"It could also explain why you were worse on _Galactica_," Laura added.

Jake decided to ask a few questions. "Some people have gone to the mirror universe and met their doubles. Why weren't they affected?"

Bashir sighed. "It affects everyone differently, but eventually one will die. The process is probably slower for some people."

"But Commander Riker was copied. What made his situation different?" Jake questioned.

"He was split. Parts of his personality went to his other self, and there was a genetic deviation after the split. Admiral, I'm afraid you'll have to stay here until the other admiral, well," he paused to glance at Laura, "passes," Bashir explained.

Bill glanced over at Laura. "You should probably head back to your husband."

She placed a hand on his shoulder. "I was planning on it. But I don't want to leave you alone. I think I'll send Hannah over here to stay with you for a while. This whole thing's been hard enough on her. She's said her goodbyes. I don't think it would do her any good to watch the end result."

He nodded. "That's fine."

As he waited for Hannah, he noted how quiet the room was. With the door closed, any activity outside only sounded like a low murmur. He stood, pacing the small room pulling the robe off over his head. _This is just great. I give up everything in my universe to come here and I can't even help them in battle. All I can do is sit here and hope that the other Bill dies before I do. Some trade_, he grumbled mentally.

The whoosh of the door opening broke through his internal tirade, causing him to jump slightly, bringing on a small coughing fit. Hannah stepped inside and let the door close. Folding her arms in front of her, she leaned back against the wall. The hair band on her brown hair was coming loose. She chewed her lip pensively, not looking directly at him, but just past him. _Maybe I can do something good here after all_, he reasoned.

"The Cylons are back," Hannah mentioned.

"I… figured they… would be… back. I wish… I was out… of here," he responded, still coughing.

"You sound almost as bad as he does," she remarked.

Bill sat back down on the biobed. "I… suppose that's what… I get for jumping universes."

Her eyes darted around the room to everything but him. "I just hope we don't have two dying leaders in this universe."

He patted a spot on the bed next to him. "Sit." She complied and he continued speaking. "It's okay to cry, you know. Nobody is… expecting you to be strong in this kind of situation."

She folded her hands in her lap. "But I've got to make sure everyone is alright first."

"No you don't. You're twelve, and you're losing someone you love. It's okay to grieve," he conveyed.

"I hate this. Why do their have to be Pythia prophecies and a dying leader? And why does he have to be the dying leader?" she questioned, facing him as her messy ponytail flopped forward over her shoulder.

"I can't answer those questions. I've asked them myself about my Laura. Death is something that we can't control," Bill relayed.

It began as a simple sniff as a few tears slipped down her cheeks. Without warning, she grabbed hold of his uniform. She sobbed into the material as he put an arm around her shoulders. He let her cry for a while before resuming the conversation.

"When my father died, there were so many things I was still angry about. I remember regretting that I we didn't part with kinder words. You're fortunate that you got to say goodbye on good terms," he told her.

She took a deep breath. "It doesn't make it any easier. In some ways I think it would be easier if I was mad at him."

He sighed, his eyes not focusing on anything in particular. "The truth is that it's never easy to lose people, whether you're on good terms with them or not. I think you were right earlier too when you said 'death blows like tillium.'"

Sitting up, she rubbed her eyes and slowly a smirk appeared on her face. "I'm rubbing off on you. That's a bad sign."

He gave her a tender smile, moving her ponytail behind her. "No, I think that's a good sign."

(A:N: 'an object cannot occupy two points in the same timeline' comes from the Pauli Exclusion Principle, which states that:"No two electrons have the same quantum numbers" from the Hyperphysics website)

(My thanks to Mamabella, McGonagallFan, Alecandrain2, Mariel3, carolann, Ceridwyn2 for reviewing :D)


	13. The way you hold your knife

Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel.

Chapter 12: The way you hold your knife

Kira stood in the command center, watching as Bajoran officers along with Starfleet maintained their stations. She jumped back quickly as the console to her left sparked in a power surge. "Lieutenant Baxter, are the shields holding?" she demanded.

The dark-haired lieutenant to her right glanced over at her. "Shields at 80 percent and dropping, sir."

"Noted," she responded. Then she walked over to a young Trill. "Ensign Rixa, why haven't the ships from Starfleet arrived?"

"Sir, some of they were held up with a diplomatic problem concerning the Ferengi. The rest should be here shortly," the ensign replied.

"What are _Galactica_ and the Colonials doing?" Kira questioned.

"Admiral Adama's fleet is fighting back, sir."

Kira sighed heavily, watching the viewscreen. Lieutenant Baxter suddenly faced her. "Sir, there's a transmission for you. It's from Admiral Adama."

She walked over to the lieutenant and picked up the ear piece. "Put it through."

"Colonel Kira?" a familiar gravelly voice asked.

"Yes, Admiral."

"I have a plan."

"I'm listening."

"I need you to take the prisoner Tory Foster and inject her with the Cylon virus. Then I want you to transport her to the Cylon resurrection ship," the admiral requested.

"Alright Admiral, I'll inform Dr. Bashir," she responded.

Bashir left sickbay with the virus. When he reached the brig the guards let him into Tory's cell. Almost as soon as he applied the hypospray to her neck, she felt the virus take hold of her. Gripping the bench, she glared at him. "Why?"

"The admiral requested it," Bashir answered.

"You're lying. He didn't want this. Unless… he probably found out that I killed Cally, didn't he? Never mind." She glowered at him with hate in her eyes over her fate. "Tell him something for me. Tell him Laura frakking Roslin is better off dead than with him," Tory spat.

Tory was beamed over to the Cylons. As Kira watched from the command center, the resurrection ship's engines failed. Then the baseships ceased all movement. One by one, the ships began to implode. "By the Prophets…" Kira exclaimed quietly. In a matter of minutes, the Cylons were no longer a problem.

Kira headed to sickbay. Bashir looked up as she entered. "What happened with the Cylons?"

"Destroyed. That virus did more damage than I expected," she mentioned.

"At least that's one good thing. I'll tell the admiral," Bashir stated, moving toward the private room.

Kira stopped him. "Wait. He's here?"

"Of course," Bashir responded as he knocked on the door.

Adama opened it and stepped out, followed by Hannah. "What's the status of the battle, Colonel?"

"The Cylon fleet's been destroyed," she relayed.

He raised an eyebrow. "How?"

"I went by your decision to take the Cylon prisoner and inject her with the virus," Kira explained.

Adama stared at her, wide-eyed. "I gave no such order."

Kira looked from him to Bashir. "You called from _Galactica_."

"He's been here for quite a while," Bashir commented. "He never made any calls."

"You must've spoken to the other admiral," Adama deduced.

Kira rested one hand on her hip while leaning on a table with the other hand. "I thought it was you because I assumed he didn't know about the virus, or the prisoner."

"I told him about it while I was over there before transporting here," the admiral relayed. "What I don't understand is why Laura didn't contact you to verify all this. In order to do what's been done, he needs a presidential approval."

Hannah stepped out from behind him. "Not exactly. With him being the Dying Leader, he's been giving more freedom in certain areas."

He stared at her, wide-eyed. "Are you telling me that she willingly gives him that much power?"

The girl shifted from one foot to the other. "You don't know the whole situation. She made a bad call in one of the earlier battles, before the fleet found Kobol. It ended up costing lives and she's been regretting it ever since. She doesn't want to repeat the mistake, so she lets him have whatever he needs during a battle."

Running a hand through his hair, he sighed. "What did I walk into?"

"You sound better," the girl observed.

"That's because the medication is working," Bashir mentioned.

Hannah looked from Adama to the doctor. "How about I take him back to the quarters we've been moving into? If you don't want people asking too many questions, it would be better if Mom came looking for me in those quarters instead of sickbay."

"That makes sense. Doctor?" Kira stated, turning to Bashir.

"Alright, but if the coughing is worse, bring him back," he told Hannah.

Adama wore the robe again as Hannah led him down a few red-brown corridors. She stopped at a keypad and pushed a button. "Hannah Roslin," she said to it.

The doors swished open and she entered with him following. After the doors closed, he removed his hood. "Mind if I ask why you didn't take your step-father's last name?"

She smirked. "I did. I give the other last name at the door so that if someone follows me or happens to know my first name, they won't be able to fool the door."

_Smart kid_, Adama thought as he surveyed the area. The quarters were spacious in shades of dark gray. A living room area and small kitchen with a stove, a sink, and a replicator were bookended by a bedroom off to each side of it. Inside both rooms were large gray beds. A basinet sat in the room off to the right. The bathroom was located by the other room. The main room also housed two bookcases, each with a box of books at the bottom. Other boxes were scattered throughout the living area.

"Sorry about the mess. We're still in the middle of moving from _Galactica_," Hannah explained.

He sat down on the springy gray couch. "Understandable."

"Can I get you something to drink?" the girl offered.

"Coffee please," he replied.

After a few minutes, she handed him a steaming mug of coffee while she held a glass of milk. She sat next to him, her eyes gravitation to the scrap book on the coffee table. She picked it up with her free hand, setting it on her lap. "It's a scrap book about baseball. Jake let me borrow it," she remarked, facing Adama.

He looked over the pictures as she turned the pages. "Tell me about the game."

They were still talking about baseball when Laura entered the room. "Mom, where's Charlotte?" Hannah asked.

"I left her with Kara for the moment. I just stopped by to pick up your father's dress grays. Somehow they ended up in the box for the space station," Laura stated quickly, not looking at Adama.

Bill stood. "How is he?"

Laura stopped and wheeled around to face him. "Dying. He wants to be put in his dress grays after…"

"Would you like to sit down for a minute?" Bill offered.

She shook her head. "I have to be going." Quickly she headed over to the room off to the left. She emerged with the dress uniform draped over her arms. "Do you know what happened with the battle? All we saw from _Galactica's_ CIC was the Cylon fleet suddenly falling apart."

Adama sighed, folding his hands in front of him. "Your admiral ordered that Tory would be released from the brig to be injected with the Cylon virus."

Her eyes widened. "Tory's dead. What Cylon virus are you talking about?"

"He didn't tell you?" Adama asked.

"No," she said simply.

"I brought the Tory from my universe back with me to keep an eye on her, along with a sample from a Cylon virus. The virus was first discovered on a drifting baseship that your admiral told me he blew up. I told your Bill about it," Adama began.

She glared at him over the top of her glasses. "Just where was I when you were having this conversation?"

"I think you had to leave the room to look after the baby. I'm surprised that he didn't tell you," Adama commented.

"_You_ should've told me," she retorted.

He sighed, clearing his throat. "You're right. I just haven't had the chance to."

"You could've told me when we beamed over to the station," she reminded.

"In case you forgot, at that time I was a little busy with a hacking cough," he shot back.

She rolled her eyes. "You left me in the dark, again. You're just as bad as him. I am President of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol and I am _tired _of being left in the dark!"

"Laura, I didn't mean to…" he did not finish as she dashed out of the quarters.

Hannah waved Bill over to where she sat on the couch, holding a model ship. "Sit."

He joined her, admiring the woodwork of the ship. "That's well-built. Might actually float."

She smirked. "That's because this one hasn't been broken several times. He taught me how to make it. I built most of this one myself after he helped me with the framework."

Bill nodded with approval. "He's taught you well."

"Yep." Hannah looked back at the door, then faced Bill again. "She's not exactly mad at you particularly, you know. She's mad at him for dying. You're just going to get the short end of the stick because you look like him, so she's going to take her anger out on you for a while."

"I'm afraid that doesn't help me much," Bill grumbled.

Hannah sighed. "Give her time."

He raised an eyebrow. "How come you seem to be doing so well with this?"

"Because I know you're two different people. Her problem is that she can't separate the two of you right now, and I think that might be your problem too. Of course, it's not like it's my business that both of you need better communication skills," Hannah remarked.

_I'm looking at Roslin pointing out the obvious again_. "Some things will take longer to resolve than others."

(My thanks to Mamabella, McGonagallFan, Ceridwyn2, carolann, and max72 for reviewing :D)


	14. The way you haunt my dreams

Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel.

Chapter 13: The way you haunt my dreams

Admiral William Adama was dead. He had died a few hours after Laura had retrieved his dress grays. The family held a small service the following day, burying him on Earth. The trip itself had been disguised as a visit to look at real estate. Then the family returned to _Galactica_. The new plan was for Bill Adama to transport into Life Station. He would make a miraculous recovery.

When Jake beamed him back to _Galactica_, Adama found himself in Cottle's office again. As he materialized, Cottle's head shot up and he spit out his coffee. "I wish you'd quit doing that. What do you think would happen if your doctor got a sudden heart attack?"

Adama raised a hand in defense. "Point taken. Are they here?"

Cottle nodded. "All except Laura. She's probably in their quarters, figuring out what to tell our press about your recovery."

"How about the 'infusion of Cylon DNA' excuse?" Adama mentioned.

"When we used that, we said that I was trying an experimental chemical and the reactions were unknown," Cottle explained.

"I'm sure Laura will think of something," Adama remarked.

Cottle stood as someone knocked on his door. "Can't even get a decent coffee break."

He opened the door to Hannah, who looked over at Bill. "Oh good, you're here. He told them about you and the plan."

"How did they take that?" Bill inquired.

Hannah shifted from one foot to the other. "Kara told him he was nuts, that he was irreplaceable. Dee looked really uncomfortable, but she smiled. Zack didn't say anything, but he looked relieved. He's been stressed over figuring out how to manage a whole fleet. The military part he's okay at, but when it comes to the occasional Quorum meetings, he trips over his words because he's too nervous."

"We shouldn't keep them waiting any longer," Bill remarked.

The girl stepped out of the office first, as if to act as a buffer between the family and Bill. They were seated in chairs outside of Cottle's office. Zack helped a very pregnant Kara to her feet while Dee managed her twin boys in their double stroller. All three adults stared intensely at Bill.

At last Hannah spoke. "Alright, let's leave the staring contest for another day. Yes, he looks exactly like our admiral did when he was healthy. No, he's definitely not a Cylon or a changeling. Any questions?"

"If you're here, what happened to the Laura of your universe?" Kara asked.

Bill folded his hands in front of him. "She was the dying leader. She's gone now."

Kara looked him over from head to toe, still glaring at him. "Just because it was what he wanted, doesn't mean I have to like it."

Hannah stepped closer to her. "Look, I know you're pissed off-"

"Language," Bill interrupted.

The girl turned toward him and raised an eyebrow, then turned back to Kara. "I know you're ticked off, but we all have to play along with this, at least in public. If you walk out that door looking mad, people will be suspicious."

Kara plastered a fake smile across her face. "Fine," she said before leaving, Zack trailing after her.

_What have I gotten myself into?_ Bill sighed heavily, then noticed that Dee had remained. "What do you think of this?"

"Well sir, he asked a lot of you to be here. He and I didn't always see eye to eye, and I wish he'd asked us about it. Why did you accept?" she inquired.

"Aside from the fact that he didn't give me much of a choice, you mean?" Bill pursued.

Dee smirked. "He wasn't always quite that pushy. In the last two months he's been more controlling."

"I thought so. In a way I stayed because of Laura and her daughters," he replied.

"If you loved your Laura anywhere near as much as he loved his Laura, I think I understand why a man would trade a universe for a second chance," she mentioned. Then she turned back to her sons, "I've gotta go. You probably want to know their names. The one on the left is Isaac and the one on the right is little Will."

Bill watched as she left, thinking to himself. _Is that really what I was trying to do? I thought I was helping this universe. I shouldn't even be thinking that. She's just lost her Bill and she needs time. I'm not trying to replace him, not in that capacity. What have I done? I really wish I had my shaving cream about now. It's been too long since my last descent shave_.

Hannah broke into his thoughts. "I'll take you back to your quarters. Mom will probably turn up later if she's not there now. Oh, and Colonel Kira wants to talk to you. She's planning to stop by soon."

On the way to his quarters, he and Hannah walked slowly in order to maintain the rouse. Many crew personal smiled and nodded at him. People commented on how good it was to see him back on his feet. When he reached his quarters, Laura was not there. As Hannah dashed off to find Kira, Bill looked around his, or rather the other admiral's quarters.

He noticed several boxes, some closed, some opened. Most of the books on his shelves were gone, _having already been packed and moved to the station_, he recalled. His desk was still there, as was the couch. He closed his eyes to smell the familiarity, but what he smelled did not match what he remembered. His eyes flew open as he realized that he not only smelled the old leather and other military smells, but her perfume, and was what distinctly baby powder. Looking down into a box by his desk, he spied the culprit and smirked. A few of Charlotte's items had yet to be packed.

Glancing back toward the sleeping area, he spotted his rack, but something looked different about it. As he neared it, he realized that it was a good three feet longer, with two legs supporting the addition. _So it was possible to make a double bed out of that_, he mused. A knock on the door brought his attention back to business. He opened the hatch to find Kira.

"Come in," he said. She nodded and stepped in as he closed the hatch. "Hannah said you wanted to talk to me."

"Yes. The other admiral wanted me to look into a collaboration between my people and yours. She told me to tell you she's at the gym," she told him. She carried a stack of electronic pads with her, which she set on the coffee table.

He motioned for her to sit on the couch while he took a chair. "What did you have in mind?"

"I could send you some Starfleet personnel to add to your staff. We've used this idea before, working with the Klingons. The other admiral and I have also discussed sending a few engineers over here to help with repairs," she commented.

"That sounds reasonable. Approximately how long has the Colonial Fleet been here?" he inquired.

She folded her arms in front of her. "About three weeks. I wish these issues could've been attended to sooner, but the entire Alpha Quadrant is still fixing the mess from the war with the Dominion. Eventually I'd like you and the president to be able to talk with the Starfleet admirals. They've been evasive lately."

He smirked. "Politics as usual?" She gave him a half-smile and he continued. "We'll deal with everything one day at a time. What exactly is Starfleet?"

"It's basically the military, political, medical, engineering, and scientific branch of the United Federation of Planets. Starfleet Academy trains people to serve the Federation in some capacity, usually on a Starship or space station. It's a 'Federation of Planets' because it's made up of several alien races who have decided to join," Kira explained.

Adama nodded, absorbing the information. "Is the whole Alpha Quadrant part of it?"

She shook her head. "Groups like the Klingons, Cardassians, Ferengi, and Romulans have their own groups. And then there are worlds like Bajor that have a few infrastructure issues that stop us from joining. Speaking of joining, my other reason for coming here was to invite you to join as well."

He raised an eyebrow. "What did the other admiral say?"

"I had to go through certain channels before I could finally get a hold of Admiral Hayes and to ask if I could invite the Colonials," she replied.

"What does it mean either way?" he asked.

She rested her hands on her knees. "Whether you join or not, your people have the option of remaining as a separate entity, or integrating yourselves with the other humans. If you join Starfleet, you'll be another official culture within the Federation."

He rose to pour himself a glass of water and offer one to her. She nodded and he returned with two glasses. "What about settlement? We can't stay on the ships indefinitely."

Taking a gulp of water, she faced him. "There are about sixty thousand of you. It would be easier for us to place your people somewhere and call it a colony."

"I hope you realize that I need to discuss all of these things with the president," he reminded, drinking his water.

She nodded. "Of course. How are things, if you don't mind?"

Bill rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I should give you the military answer and say everything's fine. But I'd rather be honest right now. It's bad enough having to pretend I'm slowly recovering when I actually feel pretty good. His family doesn't trust me, can't say as I blame them though. Then there's Laura. I haven't seen her in days and I suspect she's been avoiding me."

Kira sighed, slumping forward with her elbows on her knees. "I wish I could help you with that, but it's out of my expertise."

"I didn't expect you to," he stated.

"Is there anything that I can help you with?" she asked.

He sat back against the couch. "I know very little about what you've called the Alpha Quadrant, or Earth in this universe."

She smiled politely. "Actually I can help you with those. I brought a few data pads with me," she remarked, handing him the pads. "As you'll read, the Alpha Quadrant expanded for the people of Earth when Zephram Cochran invented the warp engine."

Scrolling down, he read a few items before looking back at here. "And how do your people fit into all this?"

Kira set her empty glass on the table. "My people were farmers and artisans, until the Cardassians decided that we didn't know enough to use our resources properly. They barged in and placed us in camps during what we call the Occupation."

"The Cylons tried something like that with us after nuking our home-worlds," he began, going on to explain New Caprica.

They continued to discuss the Alpha Quadrant as well as how the different alien races related to each other. When she left, Bill noted that the visit had lasted roughly four hours. They had decided to send a few engineers over, as well as a few more officers. The rest he would discuss with Laura when they had time.

Alone again, Bill noticed a few pictures still on the wall, above several that were in a box. He looked closely at all of them to see that they were of Laura, Zack, Lee, Kara, Dee, and Hannah. There were wedding pictures as well as a photo of Dee in Life Station holding her twins with Lee at her side. Then he found one of himself and Laura. It was a wedding picture with her wearing a borrowed white dress suit. From the photo it looked like Saul was his best man, followed by Lee and Zack, while Kara was Laura's maid of honour, next to Dee and Hannah. I knew she wasn't the type to play flower-girl, he mused. The he found another Life Station photo, this one of him sitting next to Laura. Hannah sat on the other side of the bed and a newborn baby Charlotte rested in Bill's arms.

He set the picture back in the box and stood, taking a deep breath as his eyes misted over. _Oh Laura, why couldn't we have shared a life like this? You deserved a life like this. Maybe if I hadn't been so stubborn… maybe if I had just realized… I don't know what I'm doing here. Everything is so complicated_, he thought to himself. He wiped his eyes, hearing a knock at the hatch.

He opened the hatch, expecting to find Hannah or Colonel Kira, hoping to find Laura. He blinked in surprise to see Zack. "Come in."

Zack entered and looked around the room before returning to Bill. "I'm sorry about Kara."

Bill closed the hatch. "It's fine. She has a right to be angry. How do you feel about this?"

Zack sighed heavily. "I can't say that I agree with his plan, but I understand why he wanted things this way. I can command Galactica just fine, but I know as well as he did that I can't manage a fleet, not yet."

"I'm sure you'll learn in time. Colonel Kira wants to bring some Starfleet personnel aboard, starting with engineers that will help us with repairs," Bill informed him.

"That's good to know," Zack commented, walking toward one of the boxes. He started to take the remaining pictures from the wall and place them in a box. "He was hoping to retire soon, but the disease got to him first. He wanted Mom and the girls to live on Deep Space Nine while we figure out what to do for our people."

"Kira mentioned that too. I need to speak with the president about it. How long have you been calling Laura 'Mom?'" Bill inquired as he helped Zack with the packing.

"Since she and Dad got married after Kobol. Lee was calling her 'Mom' too. What are we like in your universe?" Zack asked.

Bill paused to face him. "My Zack died in a flight school accident."

Zack blinked. "Oh, the one that stopped me from flying?"

The older man nodded. "Yes."

"And Lee?" Zack pursued.

Bill smiled fondly. "He left the military and now he's the president. He and Kara have each other."

"You should've known she'd end up with one of the Adama boys," Zack joked.

"Yeah. What's the fleet status here?" Bill asked.

"Well sir," he began. _'Sir' is probably easier than 'dad' at the moment,_ Bill noted. "Everybody's restless. They want a place to call home and they want to get off these ships."

"As I've said before, Colonel Kira brought up a few things that I need to discuss with the president," Bill mentioned.

Zack looked down at his feet. "The president may be out of commission for a while. Mom is having a hard time dealing with everything. She can fake stuff for the Quorum, but you might have a bit of a problem."

Bill nodded. "We'll all take things one day at a time then."

"Was there anything else you wanted to know?" Zack inquired.

The older man thought for a moment. Then he remembered. "Just one thing. What is your call sign?"

The younger man blushed. "Light-weight."

Bill raised an eyebrow. "I hope that doesn't relate to your boxing ability."

"No, it refers to my inability to hold my alcohol. I got it from one of my flight instructors. You see-"

"You came to flight class drunk?" Bill questioned.

Zack shook his head. "No sir. We had an afternoon class, and earlier that day I had two midterms. I'd stayed up all night studying for them and I could barely stay on my feet by the time the flight class came around. I noticed that a couple of the other recruits looked tired two. What I didn't know until later was that there had been a party earlier and most of the other recruits were a little drunk. My instructor walked by me, looked me up and down, and called me a light-weight, meaning that I couldn't hold my liquor."

Bill laughed. _Laura was right_. "Sounds like your flight instructor might've been at that party."

The younger man glanced down at his watch. "I need to get back to CIC before they think I've been at a party."

As Zack left, Adama returned to packing. He had just picked up a sweater when he heard another knock at the hatch. As he opened it, a feeling of déjà vu struck him as he saw a repeated scene from his universe: Laura looking frazzled, holding a crying baby.

(My thanks to Mariel3, Ceridwyn2, McGonagallFan, Mamabella, Alecandrain2, and carolann for reviewing :D)


	15. The memory of all that

Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel.

Chapter 14: The memory of all that

He ushered them inside, closing the hatch behind them. "Why did you knock? This is more your home than mine."

She sighed, shaking her head. "I don't know. I wasn't sure what I'd find, and I didn't want to just walk in on you if you had decided to use the shower." She walked closer to him, holding up Charlotte. "Would you mind?"

Adama took the baby in his arms. "There now, it's okay."

"Da," Charlotte said. Bill stared at her, wide-eyed.

"She started doing that when we came back to this universe. He got to hear her first word," Laura said quietly.

"Da."

"Interesting. Shh, everything's gonna be okay. See?" he said, rubbing her back as he seated himself on the couch.

"Da," she said, pulling herself closer to him.

Laura sat down quietly on the other end of the couch, not facing him. He spoke when the baby was quiet. "Madame President, I'm glad you stopped by. There are some fleet matters that Colonel Kira-"

"'Madame President?' Is that where we're at?" she scoffed

"I called my Laura 'Madame President' when I needed to speak with her as the admiral for fleet business. Right now I have fleet business to discuss with you," he explained.

"'Madame President,'" she said again, her tone low and derisive. "I don't feel like being the president today, or tomorrow, or even next week," she spat.

"I know you're grieving and having to put on a act in public is making it worse. I'm not telling you you're wrong; I'm saying that neither one of us has the luxury of putting off fleet matters for very long. What have you told the Quorum?" he inquired.

"The Quorum can all go to Hades in a hand-basket," she muttered quietly. Then she stood, pacing. "I told them that Dr. Cottle had been trying a series of medications and that, with Starfleet's help, has cured him. Now what is so important that it couldn't wait until later?" she drilled him.

He kept his response calm and even in order to keep Charlotte calm. "The fleet needs someplace to call home. Zack said as much and Colonel Kira has a few options, most of which will probably have to be voted on, but I wanted you to know what they are. Our people have the option of living on Earth or space stations with other humans, maintaining the status of Colonials and being regarded as another alien race, joining the United Federation of Planets, and living as a colony on a planet within Starfleet's jurisdiction."

Laura stopped pacing. "Why wasn't this mentioned before?"

"She said she had to go through certain channels before she could bring it up," he mentioned.

"I suppose every government has its bureaucratic rat wheel," she said dryly, looking beside the couch to pull up an infant seat that Bill had not noticed.

"Hamster wheel," he remarked, handing the baby back to Laura. She raised an eyebrow at him as she placed the baby in the infant seat, on the couch. He explained further. "I had a hamster when I was a kid. Bit me a lot. My point is that there was a wheel in its cage."

She snorted. "You always did like to get the last word in." Then she began laughing.

Bill watched her with concern. "It wasn't that funny."

"I know, but I can't stop," she gasped. Then the laughter turned to sobbing.

Without hesitation, he reached over and pulled her close to him. She latched onto his uniform as the sobs wracked her body. He rubbed her back as he had Charlotte's, letting her cry. She fought herself for control over her emotions as frustration bubbled out.

"I hate him! I hate him for doing this to me, to his family! Why wouldn't he let Julian put him in stasis? No, he had to go and complete his 'dying leader' status. And the worst part is that we can't even mourn him as a fleet because to them he's not dead! I hate you for agreeing to this scheme!" she snapped.

He held her tighter. "Then why did you want me to stay? I asked you about it."

Neither said a word for a while. Then she took a deep breath, slowly relaxing in his embrace as her tears stopped. "I'm sorry. I don't really hate you. I just don't know how to handle this," she paused and looked up to face him. "I don't know what to do with this."

_I know exactly how you feel_. "I think, under the circumstances, that it would be best if you and I had separate quarters. I could slip in and out at the right times, but you'd be allowed to mourn him properly."

She looked back up at him and sniffed. "Bill, I can't just ask you to-"

"I shouldn't be his replacement to you, at least not in that capacity. You just lost your husband. I would like to be your friend at least," he interjected.

A ghost of a smile appeared on her face. "You'll always be more than that, which is part of why this is all so difficult."

"Hopefully in time we can straighten this out better," he added.

She nodded, extracting herself from his embrace to retrieve Charlotte. "I have to go. I need to track down Hannah."

"Kira said that she's probably at the gym," Bill mentioned.

"That sounds like her, probably showing off again," Laura mentioned with a smirk. Before leaving, she turned back to him. "Bill."

"Yes?" he said as he placed a hand on the door.

"Thank you," she told him.

He spent the night on _Galactica_, in what was sort of his own bed. In the morning he worked with Zack pack the rest of the boxes before they were transported to Laura's quarters. While Zack stayed to chat with Laura and Hannah, Bill walked off in search of Colonel Kira.

After looking at a map from the automated computer system, he found her in her office. "Is there something I can help you with, Admiral?"

He nodded. "With all that's been going on, I want to give Laura some space. Is there any way that the quarters next door would be vacant?"

Kira gestured for him to sit as she checked the logs on her computer. "Actually the quarters on both sides are empty. Due to our recent war with the Dominion, the station's not nearly as occupied as usual, so you're welcome to move into one of them."

"Thank you," he responded.

She looked at him, noticing the weariness. "You look like you could use some coffee."

"If it's not too much trouble," he stated.

Standing, she walked over to the replicator. "I'm going to introduce you to a racktajino."

He raised an eyebrow. "A what?"

She smirked. "It's Klingon coffee."

"Should I be worried?" he asked with a grin.

"Only if you've been drinking decaf," she replied.

After giving the device instructions, she reached into the replicator for a steaming dark green mug. She handed it to him and watched him smell it. "It doesn't smell lethal."

She chuckled. "It isn't. And I gave you the same thing I usually drink. With things like these, they need to be made just a little too hot to drink."

He blew over the top of it. "I never thought of it that way, but you're right. Most people like their beverages hotter than drinkable."

"I wish you could meet Odo. I've tried to explain coffee to him and it never quite works," she mentioned with a faraway look in her eyes.

"Who is Odo?" Bill inquired.

Kira folded her hands on her desk. "He's a changeling, but a good one. He was raised by a Bajoran scientist, Dr. Mora. Over time he and I became… close. He left us to teach his people what it meant to be human, and to cure them of a disease, but that's a longer story than either of us have time for today."

_Maybe we understand each other better than I had first thought_, he reasoned as he took a few sips of the coffee. His eyes shot open as he looked back at her. "Strong doesn't begin to describe this stuff. If their coffee's this strong, I'm willing to bet that their alcohol is too."

She smirked. "You're right about that."

He finished his coffee in silence, then set the cup on the desk. "Thank you, Colonel."

"You're welcome, Admiral," she stated. As he stood to leave, she walked him to the door. "If you need to talk to someone, I'll make time."

He smiled politely. "Thanks for the offer, but I've already taken up too much of your time."

"We have a councilor available too," Kira added.

"I don't need a shrink, but I appreciate the gesture," he responded.

"This shrink isn't like any other one you've met," the colonel explained as the admiral left.

He returned to _Galactica_ to look check on the status of the Colonial Fleet. CIC welcomed him back with applause. "Thank you, but it's not necessary. We've got a fleet to protect, so let's keep our focus where it belongs," he told them.

As he read through the fleet reports, the DRADIS suddenly beeped. "Sir, four large unidentified vessels just appeared. They appear to be heavily armed and… cube-shaped," Dee told him.

"Get me Colonel Kira on the wireless," he told Dee.

She pushed a few buttons. "Connected, sir."

"Colonel, I think the Borg are here," he mentioned.

"Well aware of it, Admiral. I've already sent a transmission to the other Starfleet vessels. They should be here this time," she relayed.

Adama ran a hand through his hair, watching the DRADIS as the four cubes drew closer. _I hope they've got that bomb we talked about, or we're all screwed_.

(The comment Kira makes about the coffee being almost too hot to drink comes from a discussion she has with Odo, but I can't for the life of me remember which episode it is from).

(My thanks to McGonagallFan, kywildcat, Mamabella, Alecandrain2, carolann, and Mariel3 for reviewing :D)


	16. Luck

Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel.

Chapter 15: Luck

As the Borg cubes neared the fleet, Kira's voice crackled over the wireless. "Admiral, it might be better if you would just get your fleet out of here. The Borg have shields. You don't."

_If only I hadn't read those frakking reports this morning_. "Not possible, Colonel. The FTL drives on most of the ships are burned out, and that's the bare minimum of the repairs we need at the moment. What about that Plan B we talked about?"

There was a pause and he heard Laura's voice. "What Plan B is that?"

_I'm not the only one who can't stay out of a battle_. "Madame President, Colonel Kira should probably explain it to you."

Zack cleared his throat and Adama looked over his shoulder at the younger man. "You usually call her 'Laura.' 'Madame President' is reserved for when you two disagree on things," Zack whispered.

"Thanks," Adama whispered back.

Kira's voice crackled again. "Admiral, Plan B is having some technical difficulty with the release mechanism."

"I'd like to know what Plan B is also," Zack mentioned quietly.

Adama leaned closer. "I brought back a Cylon virus from my universe that affects the inorganic processing capabilities. We were planning to release it, along with an actual computer virus, to the Borg using a bomb."

"Sir, DRADIS shows at least thirty ships. They just appeared," Dee interrupted.

Kira spoke again. "Admiral, don't worry. They're on our side, and they have shields. They'll be acting as a buffer between your fleet and the Cylons while they fight."

"Noted. We should keep an open COMM," Adama stated.

"Agreed," Kira responded.

"Sir, I need a word with you," Zack told him.

He and the admiral headed over to the glass partition off to the side after letting Helo take charge for the moment. "If they're working with a bomb, I can help them. After my accident, I had to do something, so I studied ballistics."

Adama sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Zack, if I let you go and you get her, Laura will never let me hear the end of it." _And I won't lose you twice_.

"Dad, I can do this. I'll be on the station. The sooner I transport over there, the better," Zack argued. 'Dad' had rolled out too naturally, _like my habit of using 'Madame President,' _Bill reasoned.

"I know whatever you end up doing will probably involve more than fixing something. Have you thought about Kara? I don't want you taking unnecessary risks," Bill argued.

When Zack faced his father, Bill realized that Zack was taller by at least half a head. "Admiral, you've told me countless times that you have to put aside your own personal interests and put the Fleet first. I need to do this for the fleet, or we could all be screwed."

_It figures that you would remind me what the priorities are_. Bill reached for his right pocket and pulled out his father's lighter. He had placed it there that morning, intending to give it to Zack later. "Since I can't talk you out of it, I might as well give you your grandfather's lighter."

As he handed it to Zack, the younger man studied it. "Lee lost this during the Exodus from New Caprica."

"It's from your 'other' grandfather then," Bill added. "Good hunting, son."

Like Zack's 'Dad' comment, Bill's 'son' remark had slipped out. Zack looked back at him and smirked before putting the lighter in his pocket. "So say we all, sir."

Bill nodded. "So say we all."

They headed back to the center of CIC. "Colonel, I'm sending over Captain Adama to help you with Plan B."

"Alright, sir. We'll lock onto him now," Kira stated before a shimmering blue haze surrounded Zack.

Adama looked back at the DRADIS after Zack had disappeared. After Kira confirmed that Zack had safely transported over, the admiral sighed, pacing slightly. He stopped, leaning forward with his hands in front of him. Helo approached him. "Sir, would you like your chair?"

Remembering that he had a role to play, Adama nodded and soon found himself in the awkward position of watching a battle while sitting. _For a soldier to be a bystander, why is it that every time something important happens, I'm stuck on the sidelines? I'll have to speak with Kira about shields when this is over_. He lightly drummed his fingers on his console before remembering that the COMM was still open. "Laura, if you're there with the Colonel, where is Hannah, and who's watching the baby?" He knew that Hannah was capable of managing herself, but felt the need to ask anyway.

"She's fine, Bill. I left her and Charlotte with Ezri Dax. Everyone's alright over here," she reassured him. He would have asked whom she was referring to, but thought better of it to maintain their current ruse.

Watching the DRADIS as well as the viewscreen, he could tell that the Borg were certainly a problem. What exactly provoked them to take an interest in this part of the galaxy he was not sure of. _I'll have to ask Kira about that later. More Federation ships have joined, but the Borg weapons look like they're doing more damage_.

Dee interrupted his thoughts. "Sir, the hanger bay just called. Athena and Boomer have been beamed off the deck."

_If they get captured, humanity is doomed_. "Colonel, we've got a problem. My two Cylon pilots have been beamed-"

"Onto the station. Sorry to worry you. We realized that the Borg could beam them off of your ship because you don't have shields, so we beamed them over here ," Kira explained.

Adama let out a breath he did not know he was holding. _They're going to kill me one way or another_. "Thank you, Colonel."

"This should be over soon if our plan-"

"He did what! How could you let him do that?" Laura's demand interrupted Kira.

"He must've transported over there to the cube at the same time we beamed the Cylons aboard," Kira's voice answered.

"Can you lock onto his signal and bring him back?" Laura requested.

"I'm afraid it's not that simple. He'll have to set the bomb at that exact location, which is shielded from our transporters. Then he has to run back to the point he beamed in from-"

"I'm sorry to interrupt this, ladies, but what is going on?" Adama asked evenly.

"Sir, Captain Adama has transported himself onboard one of the cubes to ensure that Plan B works," Kira relayed.

For the first time that day, Adama was glad that he was sitting down. "How will you get him back?"

"We were just discussing that, sir. It's up to him at this point," she responded.

He clenched a fist. _I told him not to take risks. What does he think he's doing? Why didn't he just_- Laura interrupted his thoughts this time. "Bill, if we can't get him back-"

"No. He will come back," were Adama's final words on the matter.

Shortly one cube began to collapse from what looked like the inside out, as if imploding. The other three cubes followed suit, as if the first had been a ripple in a pond. The Federation ships moved back. The Colonial Fleet rocked with the shockwave of the explosions. Adama waited to hear the COMM again, his only thought being _what do I tell Kara?_

"We've got him, sir. Captain Adama is fine and we'll return him to you soon," Kira informed him.

He sighed with relief. "Do you know if there'll be any more Borg ships?"

"We don't know the full extent of Plan B, but at least we can be certain that they'll leave us alone for a while," the colonel explained.

After Zack beamed back over, Adama let Helo take the next shift. Upon entering his quarters, Adama poured himself a glass of water. He was not sure whom to expect when he heard a knock at the hatch again. _Must be the most popular door on the ship_, he mused. Kara stood on the other side.

"Starbuck, would you like to come in?" he asked politely.

"Yes, sir," she answered simply.

"Water?" he offered. She nodded and he handed her a glass. As she finished it, she watched him for a moment.

"Sir, Zack told me what you said, and showed me the lighter. I… owe you an apology for the other day. I still don't like the idea, but I know you're not here to hurt us," she told him.

He nodded. "Thank you." As she set her empty glass down on his desk, she lingered for a moment. "Was there something else?" he asked her.

She looked back at him. "Say it."

He raised an eyebrow. "Say what?"

"You know," she commented.

Thinking for a moment, he realized what she was looking for. "What do you hear, Starbuck?"

"Nothing but the rain, sir," she replied.

He smiled. "Then grab your gun and bring in the cat." She smirked and then left. _Well, at least she doesn't flat-out hate me_, he reasoned.

During the next week, the Quorum voted that the Colonials would remain their own nation, but if some wanted to live on Earth or on the space station, they were allowed to. It was decided that the majority would live as a colony state on a nearby M-class planet. The admiral and the president alternated their time between helping the Colonials settle and working out new systems of infrastructure from the space station.

The problem was that Bill and Laura continued to slide back into hold habits. Of those habits, each would respond as they had with their previous partners, only to find that the person in front of them was looking for something different. What Laura thought was Bill's favorite food was something that this Bill would not eat. Bill continued to make similar mistakes with Laura.

Hannah went to two baseball games while Bill and Laura were busy. During the second ball game though, as Laura dealt with the Quorum, Bill was watching Charlotte while he read through his reports. As Hannah came back to the quarters on DS9 from the second game, Bill had a few questions.

"Where is this baseball game?" he inquired.

"In the holosuit. It's a holographic thing. You've gotta see it sometime," she mentioned with a grin.

He nodded. "Sounds interesting. I have to ask you something that I feel I should've asked sooner. What exactly is Jake Sisko to you?"

She smirked, watching Bill in dad-mode. "You worry too much. He's like a big brother, that's all. I promise it's nothing more than that."

"I had to ask," he stated.

Hannah sat next to him on the couch. "Mom's ticked at you again."

He nodded slowly. "I know."

"What did you do?" she probed.

"I don't know. Every time I try to fix things, I just keep making it worse. I've given her space. I've tried not to call her 'Madame President' so much. I'm here babysitting," he said.

"You'll figure something out," she reasoned.

He raised an eyebrow. "What makes you so sure?"

She shrugged, smiling. "You're good at figuring things out."

The next morning he had decided to try something different. It had only been for coffee. Bill wanted to share a moment with Laura over a cup of coffee on the Promenade. However, he had ordered for her. "She'll have two sugars and a small bit of cream."

Across the small round table she stared at him, wide-eyed. Then she turned back to the waiter. "Scratch that please. I would like some of that strawberry syrup in my coffee." When the waiter had left, she looked over at Bill. "What were you thinking, ordering my coffee for me?"

He put his hands up in defense. "I'm sorry. I was just remembering how my Laura liked her coffee," he said quietly.

She said nothing until her coffee arrived. "Look, I've got a meeting in half an hour. I had better go."

Bill sighed as Laura walked away, taking the coffee with her. As he turned back to his own coffee, he noticed a pixie-like, dark-haired woman watching him from across the room. She neared him and he noticed that she wore the same gray uniform with blue stripes at the shoulders like Dr. Bashir. However, across her forehead and down the sides of her face were a series of dark markings.

"That's quite a tattoo you've got there, ma'am," he told her.

She smirked and placed a hand on the back of the chair opposite his. "I'm Lieutenant Ezri Dax. May I join you?"

He shrugged. "I suppose."

"Thank you. I'm a Trill, by the way. That's what the markings are from," she mentioned.

Folding his hands, he faced her. Then his eyes widened at a sudden realization. "You introduced yourself to me. I take it you know who I am then."

She smiled politely. "You're Admiral Adama from the other universe. Let's just say I'm well acquainted with Julian- I mean Dr. Bashir, and Jake. They like to keep me updated."

He glanced around, relieved that they had not drawn an audience. "I hope you understand if I ask you to keep what you know to yourself then."

"That's not a problem. I get that in my line of work all the time," she replied. Then she also glanced around the room. "Do you mind if we take a walk?"

He stood and they wandered onto the upper deck of the Promenade. As they passed by a window, Adama turned toward her. "What can I do for you?"

To his surprise, she giggled. "You really have no idea what I'm here for, do you? I'm sorry. I never meant to be so secretive. I'm a guidance counselor, so I should be asking what _I_ can do for _you_."

_So this is the shrink that Colonel Kira mentioned_. Sighing heavily, he folded his hands in front of him. "No offence, but I don't feel much like having my head analyzed."

"I wasn't going to analyze anything. I was hoping you'd let me talk," she explained.

He raised an eyebrow. "You want my advice on life?"

She shook her head. "No, I want to share something with you."

"Alright," he sighed.

Taking a deep breath, she spoke without meeting his eyes. "The thing about being a Trill is that several of us are hosts. My surname of 'Dax' is actually the name of my symbiot. It's a wormlike creature that retains the memories and personalities of its previous hosts. You see, I'm the ninth host to the Dax symbiot. It means that I was implanted with the symbiot."

"Is that unique to alien species?" Adama asked.

She nodded. "The trouble is that the feelings of the previous host are there too."

"I don't mean to be rude, but why are you telling me all this?" he probed.

She met his gaze. "I've noticed the distance between you and Laura. No, she hasn't said anything to me, and no, I'm sure no one else has noticed. I'm just good at watching people. When I first became joined, that's what it's called when a Trill receives a symbiot, I came back to Deep Space Nine, where the last host, Jadzia, had lived. It was hard, partly for me because I had to get used to dealing with eight other lifetimes in my head."

"Don't they train you for something like that?" Adama inquired.

Ezri nodded again. "I wasn't supposed to be joined. Jadzia had died and the symbiot just happened to be in the same shuttle as me when it took a turn for the worst. I was the only way to save it. Figuring out eight other lifetimes wasn't my biggest problem though. Everyone who knew Jadzia was angry with me because I wasn't her, but I had her memories. The hardest person was Worf, her husband."

_Now I understand. She thinks she can counsel me through her experience_. "I appreciate what you're trying to do, but my situation is a bit different."

She sighed, crossing her arms. "My point is that it's uncomfortable, walking around in someone else's shadow. Of course it is, but I mean metaphorically. What the people I now call my friends did with me was learn to appreciate the differences instead of always comparing me to her. You _and_ Laura need to appreciate the differences between your other selves. I'm sorry if I've stepped over the line."

_No, you hit the mark. I've been comparing her to my Laura and it hasn't been fair to her_. "You haven't overstepped anything. I spoke too quickly. Thank you for the advice."

(My thanks to Idellis65, Mamabella, McGonagallFan, Mariel3, and carolann for reviewing :D)


	17. The way we danced 'till three

Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel. "The Way You Look Tonight" is by Frank Sinatra. Song lyrics are in italics. Flashbacks are in brackets.

Chapter 16: The way we danced 'till three

Bill went back to the dining area after chatting with Ezri. _It's times like these when I miss Saul. I wish he was here to talk to. Right now he's got his own problems with that blonde Cylon. I wonder what he'd tell me to do_, Bill mused. Stepping up to the bar, he caught the large-eared bald alien bartender's attention. "Admiral Adama, a little early for a drink, but I'm not here to judge. What'll it be?"

"Actually I'd like a glass of water. The replicator keeps asking me too many questions. All I want is water," Bill explained.

"Hold on, I'll be right back," the bartender stated, disappearing behind a partition. He returned with a glass of water, ice cubes floating in it. "Much as I hate to admit this, water's free too."

Bill took the glass. "Thank you. I don't quite remember your name."

"Quark. I'm a Ferengi," he explained. Bill nodded, taking a gulp of water. Quark was not one to let a conversation slip by though. "Woman troubles?"

It was all Bill could do not to spit the water out. "What makes you say that?"

Quark rolled his eyes. "I'm a bartender. I know these things."

"Why is it that everyone on this station wants to give me advice? Are all of you guidance councilors?" Bill questioned.

"No, but when you're stuck on a space station, you get caught up in other people's lives because it's easy to get bored here," Quark paused, leaning closer. "Ever since the Dominion left, I've been bored stiff."

"My personal problems shouldn't serve as somebody else's entertainment," Bill retorted.

Quark stepped back, nodding. "Fair enough. Hypothetically though, say you weren't getting along for some reason…"

Bill sighed, deciding to humor the Ferengi. "Alright, hypothetically speaking, let's say she and I are having trouble. I don't know what to do about it. I've never been good at relationships."

"When was the last time you took her out on a date?" Quark asked innocently.

The admiral fumbled for a response. "It's been quite a while."

"I thought so. There's a holosuite program that includes dinner. It's quite popular, really. The host is a lounge singer named Vic Fontaine," Quark mentioned, holding an empty glass in one hand as he cleaned it with a rag.

"How does the holosuite work anyway? Aren't the holograms like ghosts?" Bill asked.

Quark stared at him for a moment, then spoke. "I forgot you've spent most of your time on your ship since coming here. With what we call photons and force-fields, holo-emitters can make characters sound and feel like real people. The rooms they create are images, but it's as realistic as we can get without using the real thing."

Bill thought for a moment. "It's an interesting idea. Why are you helping me?"

"Because I'm bored," Quark reiterated. "I know not to expect anything financially, since you and the wife are on Colonel Kira's tab for now."

"Thanks," Bill responded, leaving his empty glass at the bar. He headed back to his quarters to finish looking at the fleet reports.

He found Hannah reading a book when he returned. She glanced up at him from Dark Day. "You look like you've got something on your mind."

Raising an eyebrow, he looked back at her. _Why is it that she can read me so well?_ "I'm thinking about taking your mother to dinner. This bartender… Quark, he told me about some holosuite program-"

"You mean Vic's? Great idea! Jake's told me about it. Vic knows he's a hologram, and he's friends with a bunch of people on the station. I'm sure Zack and Kara could be persuaded to let me and Charlotte spend the night with them," Hannah interjected.

Bill shook his head and smirked. "Something tells me you've been making plans too."

She laughed. "Every girl needs a hobby."

Zack and Kara agreed to take Hannah and Charlotte for the evening. When Laura returned to the quarters later that afternoon, Bill was the only one there. "Bill, what's going on? Where are the girls?"

"They're spending the night with Zack and Kara. Kara said she wanted the practice. You and I are going to dinner at a place called Vic's," he explained. "If it's alright with you."

Laura smirked. "I had heard of it, but I haven't found the time to investigate it myself." Then she noticed what he was wearing: a black tuxedo. "You don't look have bad in a tux. I take it that means dinner will be formal?"

"Exactly. Apparently you can give the replicator specifics and it makes clothes too," he responded.

She shook her head. "Wait right there. I won't need a replicator," she told him before disappearing into the bedroom.

He waited on the couch. When she emerged from the bedroom, he almost forgot how to breathe. "Where in the world did you get that?"

The emerald-green dress she wore had a V-neck, strap-sleeves, and a flowing skirt that passed the knees. "It was a gift from Ezri. We went shopping on the Promenade after I had arrived here. How do I look?"

_I can't just say she looks hot. I've got to be tactful about this_. "You look beautiful," he relayed.

"Thank you," she stated, looping her arm through his when he offered it. "You are going to let me order my own food this time, right?"

_I'm lucky she's decided to humor me so far with this plan_. "Yes. I'm really sorry about this morning," he replied as they exited the room.

To his surprise, she knew which holosuite was running the program. He raised an eyebrow as they stopped at the door. "I've been told where it is, but I've never been inside this program," she explained.

As they stepped inside, they noticed Bashir and Ezri directly in front of them. Ezri turned and grinned. "I didn't expect to see you two here, but I'm glad. Laura, that dress looks fantastic. Let us introduce you to Vic," the Trill stated.

Laura glanced back at Bill. "This will be an added bonus. I've heard interesting things about this particular hologram."

"So have I," Bill added.

Vic walked up to shake hands with Bashir and Ezri. Then the trill looked back at the other couple. "Vic, I want you to meet Admiral Bill Adama and his wife, President Laura Adama."

The hologram extended a hand. "It's good to finally meet you two. I've been hearing all kinds of things about Colonials for the past couple of weeks."

"We've all been busy," Bill mentioned. As he shook hands with Vic, his eyes widened. "Quark was right. You feel solid."

Vic chuckled. "Technology is great, isn't it?"

Laura nodded as she noticed the stage and tables behind him. "Yes. It's incredible that this whole thing isn't really here."

As Vic shook her hand, he looked between her and Bill. "It's okay to remember the past, but don't live in it. You two have a future if you live in the present. It was nice meeting you. I've gotta go. The show doesn't run itself."

Though they all chuckled at the irony as he left, Bill's brow furrowed over the words. Bashir noticed and spoke. "He'll do that with people. Giving advice is what he does. I'm surprised he said that, but for a hologram, he does possess a great deal of insight."

Laura looked back to Bill, slightly unsettled herself. "Let's find a table."

They sat off to the left as the lounge singer sang Earth songs they had never heard before. Bill let Laura order first, then he ordered. Their dinner arrived shortly. "This food tastes pretty real," Bill commented as he took a bite of his steak.

Laura twirled her spaghetti around the fork. "Yes, it's all very intriguing. I spoke with the Quorum today. The buildings are almost completed-"

"Later. No business tonight," he interrupted.

She grinned. "Maybe you've learned something after all."

He chuckled lightly. "Maybe I have."

They had almost finished their dinners when they heard the voice of the lounge singer as he began the next song. "This one's called, 'The Way You Look Tonight' and it goes out to our new Colonial guests."

Bill smiled over at Laura. "I guess that means us. Would you like to dance?"

She returned his smile. "Yes, I would like that, thank you."

He took her hand and guided her out of the way of their table so that they were part of those who were dancing, but not the center of attention. As the song began, Bill and Laura both closed their eyes as she thought of her Bill, and he thought of his Laura.

/"I'm sorry that I'm inconveniencing you or the teachers but I will not allow a network computerized system to be placed on this ship while I'm in command. Do I make myself clear?"/

/"Yes, sir."/

_Some day, when I'm awfully low,_

/"I didn't expect to see you here."/

/"I'm a patriot."/

/"Yes, you are."/

/"I can dance too."/

_When the world is cold,_

/"You broke your word to the fleet, and you broke your word to me."/

/"It's that last part that really bothers you."/

_I will feel a glow just thinking of you..._

/"I forgive you, Laura."/

/"I didn't ask for your forgiveness, Bill."/

/"You have it just the same."/

_And the way you look tonight._

/"It just goes to show you, Bill, never give up hope."/

/"Same goes for you, Laura."/

_Yes you're lovely, with your smile so warm_

/"Let me pin a frakking medal to your chest."/

_And your cheeks so soft,_

/"Is this really it, Bill? Is this how we're gonna spend the rest of our days?"/

/"Maybe we should just enjoy this."/

/"I am."/

_There is nothing for me but to love you,_

/"And if the Cylons hadn't come back?"/

/"It's pretty hypothetical."/

/"It is until it isn't. Did I just say that?"/

/"Worth just seeing you laugh like that."/

_And the way you look tonight._

/"If your quarters become too cramped, there's always room for you in one of my beds."/

_With each word your tenderness grows,_

/"Get your fat lazy ass out of that bed, Roslin."/

/"Yes, sir. Okay, sir. Anything you say, sir."/

/"Don't let 'em see you sweat, Laura."/

_Tearing my fear apart..._

/"You're afraid to live alone."/

/"And you're afraid to die that way."/

_And that laugh that wrinkles your nose,_

/"Earth was a pipedream, a carrot."/

/"What made you believe?"/

/"You."/

_It touches my foolish heart._

_/_"Why are you doing this?"/

/"Because I can't live without her."/

_Lovely ... Never, ever change._

/"Missed you."/

/"Me too."/

/"I love you."/

/"About time."/

_Keep that breathless charm._

/"What don't you know about?"/

_Won't you please arrange it?_

/"I wanna see you pick up that first fist full of Earth."/

_'Cause I love you ... Just the way you look tonight._

/"I love you."/

/"I know that."/

/"I just want to make sure you remember."/

/"I'm dying, not dumb. If I don't know that by now-"/

/"I like telling you."/

_Mm, Mm, Mm, Mm,  
Just the way you look to-night._

Within the song and the dance, his heart was able to say goodbye to _her_, to Laura Roslin. As the dance ended, Bill took Laura Adama back to the table. As Vic Fontain announced another song, Laura studied her hands. Bill leaned toward her and whispered, "Is something wrong?"

She looked up at him pensively. "We should- I need to talk to you."

He nodded and stood, offering her a hand. "No one will miss us if we just slip out."

Taking his hand, she led him out to the second level of the Promenade. Everything around them seemed quiet as the people who would have been moving about had already reached their destinations. She stopped in front of a large window, crossing her arms as she looked out at the stars.

"It's funny how much I like just looking at the stars. I'm so used to seeing them out of the window that the thought of moving planet-side actually bothers me," she admitted, her gaze on the glittering scene in front of her.

He stepped closer to her. "Understandable. I've been in space so long that for me planet-side life seems awkward. I'm a fish out of water. When you're out in space, you feel like you're not tied down to anything, like you can move around at your leisure. Planet-side life means you're restricted to a particular piece of land."

She faced him, giving him a small smile. "At least there's one thing we agree on. The problem is that I don't know if it's best for Hannah."

"Does she have friends on the station?" he inquired.

"Yes, but if we move planet-side, she'll be in a real school. The school here is so small that I worry she's not getting enough of the real world. It's not that I don't want her protected from some things, but I feel like her social interactions are limited here," Laura remarked.

"It's up to you, I suppose. But you didn't bring me here for parental advice," he observed.

She let out a long sigh. "We need to talk about 'us.' You look at me and see _her_, I know you do. In the same turn, I admit that I look at you and I still see my husband. I can't keep going like this. Both of us are still hurting from who we've lost, but we keep pushing each other away."

_She's right, like Hannah was right, and like Ezri was right. I still miss my Laura. There has to be a way to fix this_. "Laura, I'm so sorry. You're right, but not completely. What I see is what she and I could've had if our lives had permitted it," he explained.

Laura sniffed and wiped her eyes. "Oh that makes me feel much better," she spat sarcastically.

Bill immediately stepped over to her, framing her face with his hands, trying to brush away her tears. "I'm sorry, Laura. Please don't cry. I want to fix this."

She took a deep breath, collecting herself. "The problem as that we are each the surviving half. And because of that, both of us are incomplete."

He nodded ruefully. "Two halves."

"Yes, two broken halves," she expressed. Then she surprised him by taking one of his hands in hers. "But maybe, together, we can make something whole again."

Enveloping her into a warm hug, he held her close. "I promise we'll make it work."

"Okay," she whispered as they parted.

The two walked to her quarters, pausing at the door. Hannah and Charlotte were spending the night with Kara and Zack. Laura smiled shyly at Bill. "You know, if we want this to work, we'd better start with your sleeping arrangement."

"In that case I'll be right back. I need to get some clothes together," he stated.

Later the door swished open after he had pressed the chime. _I don't know if I'll ever get used to automatic doors_, he thought to himself. Laura stood in front of him wearing a cream bathrobe over what looked like an aqua nightgown. He stepped in, still holding his duffle bag. "Are you sure about this?"

She smirked. "I didn't say it was anything other than sleeping now, did I?"

He rolled his eyes at her and changed into pajamas in the bathroom. When he emerged, she had seated herself on a queen-sized gray bed. "I've been meaning to ask, these standard issue around here?"

"Apparently. I'll say it's much more comfortable than my cot, or even your rack. A person could actually get a good night's sleep in these," she said with a wry smile.

_Is that your way of offering me 'one of your beds?'_ He chuckled and she eyed him curiously. "What's so funny?"

"It's a story involving the other Laura, if you don't mind," he mentioned.

She put a hand up dismissively. "Go ahead. If it's that funny, I'm dying to know."

He sat down on the other side of the bed. "A Raptor had malfunctioned and bounced off _Colonial One_. When I got over there, she was moving boxes of files because the area she usually slept in and worked in had suffered a hull breach. I told her 'if your quarters become too cramped, there's always room for you in one of my beds.'"

Laura laughed heartily. "And how did she take that?"

"She glared at me, but then she shook her head and smirked," he relayed.

The other woman crossed her arms, still smiling at him. "No matter what universe you're in you, Bill Adama, are a flirt."

He snorted and looked over at her with a wry grin. "And you, Laura Roslin, are a tease." Though her first reaction was to smirk, her expression faded into a frown. _What did I do wrong this- Frak, that was bad_. "I'm sorry. I'm so used to placing 'Roslin' at the end of the name. It's what I've been doing for the last four years."

She nodded. "It's okay. This is just going to take us a while to get used to. I'm Laura Adama."

_This could get unpleasant fast. But I've got an idea that might work_. "Yes, ma'am. Right away, ma'am. Anything you say, ma'am," he teased, hoping to diffuse the situation.

At first she stared at him incredulously and he worried that she might just throw him out. But then she laughed. "Well played, sir."

(My thanks to Idellis65, Ceridwyn2, Mamabella, and McGonagallFan for reviewing :D)


	18. The way you've changed my life

Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel. I borrowed the saying 'When in Rome, do as the Romans do.'

Chapter 17: The way you changed my life

He woke, staring at an empty half of the bed. It took him a moment to see the light coming from the bathroom as he heard gargling. He wandered into the bathroom in his tanks and sweatpants. She raised an eyebrow, seeing him enter.

"Don't tell me you're afraid of morning breath," he teased.

She spit out the mouthwash, blushing. "He complained, so I decided that I didn't want to put you through that too."

He glanced at his reflection, seeing his hair dart out at odd angles. "Most people wake up with morning breath. It's not a problem I have, but do you mind passing the bottle?"

Handing him a plastic cup along with the mouthwash, she smiled. "Then why are you gargling?"

"When on Kobol…" he began.

"Do as the natives do," she finished.

She stood before him, bathrobe over her nightgown. Then his eyes drifted from her to the clock in the bathroom. His eyes widened when he noticed the time. "Laura, it's 0630! Why didn't you wake me? We've both got work in-"

"No, we don't," she interrupted, resting a hand on his shoulder. "You and I are allowed a day off, now that things have settled down a bit. I was trying to tell you last night, but you insisted on 'no business' at dinner. For the first time in a while, we have the time to use it. These Starfleet people allow time for a day off."

"I think the last day off I've had was the groundbreaking ceremony on New Caprica," he admitted.

"Then you, sir, are long overdue for a leisurely morning," she teased.

He smirked. "I don't suppose this 'leisurely morning' includes coffee?"

She laughed softly. "Go over to the replicator and ask it for two mugs of Number One. It's a good blend of Caprican Seacoast."

"You ordering my coffee for me now?" he goaded.

"No. You can ask the replicator for whatever you want. Caprican Seacoast is already programmed into it though. Anything you want to add to your coffee is on the counter next to the replicator," she explained. Then she gently grasped his elbow, ushering him toward the door. "Now I'd like a shower if you don't mind, so… shoo."

He laughed heartily as he grabbed a bathrobe that had been draped over a chair in the bedroom and made his way to the replicator. _This might take some getting used to, but being shooed out of the bathroom every morning might be funny_. He told the replicator that he wanted two mugs of Number One, as Laura had suggested. _It figures that coffee would be the first thing programmed into the replicator. I wonder what else is here_.

"Computer, what is item Number Two?"

"Scrambled Tauron chicken eggs and Caprican wheat toast."

Leaving the replicator, he prepared his coffee and sat down to drink it, looking out of the window at the stars. Suddenly something beeped. He looked around and noticed one of those odd star-like badges on the coffee table. Setting the coffee down, he touched the badge lightly. "Hello?"

"Sir, it's Colonel Kira. There's a transmission from your ship to us. To hear it, walk over to your computer and tell it to 'send transmission,'" she instructed.

_So much for a day off. Now where is that computer?_ He glanced around the room and walked over to the desk. He noticed a small screen and pushed a button on the desk next to it. "State your request," the computer told him.

"Send transmission," he relayed.

He heard Kara's voice on the other end. "Admiral, sir, sorry to bother you. We just wanted to let you know that Hannah and Charlotte will be transporting over there around 1100."

"So this isn't an emergency call?" he questioned.

"Of course not, sir. What did we do, catch you with your pants down?" Kara teased.

Bill ran a hand through his hair. _So that's what they think we've been doing_. "No, Starbuck. I was just drinking my coffee."

Laura emerged from the shower as Bill finished talking to Kara. She walked out in a white fluffy bathrobe with a blue towel tightly around her head. For a split second he was seeing a ghost as she headed toward the replicator to get her coffee. He mentally shook himself when she turned around to face him. "Is everything alright?"

He took a gulp of his coffee. "Yeah. Kara called. She said the girls would be back here at 1100."

"She must have startled you because you've got coffee on your bathrobe," she pointed out.

Bill shook his head. "I didn't spill anything."

"But you-" she stopped suddenly, placing a hand over her mouth. As she closed her eyes, she whispered "Frak."

He was at her side instantly. "What is is?"

She faced him, sadness in her green eyes. "He was wearing that when he collapsed. I guess I didn't notice the coffee stains."

"It's gonna be the little things, isn't it?" he mentioned, resting a hand on her shoulder. "We'll survive this."

Nodding, she took a deep breath. "I know. Look, why don't you take your shower while I fix breakfast?"

"Number Two didn't sound too bad," he told her with half-smile.

He only needed a ten-minute shower. She had dressed while he was in the shower. When he left the bathroom and sat back down on the couch, she handed him a plate of eggs and toast. "I liked your idea," she commented.

"Tastes good too," he said as he gathered some of the scrambled eggs with his fork.

She took a bite of toast. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes. I have a bed like that in the temporary quarters I've been borrowing. They are nice beds," he remarked. Then he noticed her smirking at him. "What's so funny?"

"You snore," she replied.

He shrugged. "Lots of people do."

She shook her head. "The other Bill didn't snore."

"That's odd. I guess I've had a few more broken noses than he's had," Bill reasoned.

They sat in companionable silence, finishing their breakfasts. After she had set the plates back in the replicator, she spoke. "There are civilian clothes hanging in the closet."

He took the hint and found a comfortable pair of dark trousers and a white shirt. "I think this'll do."

"Good. I've got a holosuite program that I want to try out. It doesn't have any characters, but it's got earth landscapes in it," she told him.

"Sound's nice," he responded.

As they stepped out into the hallway he offered her his arm. She smiled at him, reaching for his hand instead. "When we were courting, we linked arms. Married couples hold hands, Bill."

He chuckled softly and lightly squeezed her hand. "Alright."

When they picked up the program from Quark, he just kept smirking at them. Bill leaned close to Laura before they reached the holosuite entrance. "Did the bartender wink at us?"

Laura giggled. "I think he did."

"He's got one hell of an ego," Bill muttered.

"Yes, but let him have his fun for now, thinking that he 'played Cupid,'" Laura added, tugging Bill inside.

"'Played Cupid?' Is that another Earth expression?"

Laura nodded. "Yes." Then she addressed the computer. "Computer, please alert us when it is 1045."

"Acknowledged," the automated voice responded.

"That way we know when to head over to the transporter pad when the girls come back," she informed Bill.

The scene in front of them was of a grassy meadow with a few trees. Beyond the meadow was a small dock and a lake. "This is nice," Bill remarked.

A slight breeze blew as he watched her walk over onto the dock and sit. He slowly joined her. They sat, enjoying the simplicity of the scene, noticing birds flying by, and little minnows in the water. As he looked over at her again, her gaze seemed far away. "What are you thinking?"

She sighed, facing him. "I thought it would be like meeting a Cylon copy, having you here. It's more like finding out my husband had a twin brother."

He nodded, listening to the wood groan as he reclined back on his elbows. "When I talked to your friend, Ezri, she told me about the Trill, about how memories accompany this symbiot thing when it's transferred from one host to another. She told me I needed to appreciate the differences between you and Laura Roslin."

"Despite the illusion that she's young and inexperienced, she can be very wise at times," Laura mentioned. Then she smirked at him.

"What?" he asked.

"You look like you should be chewing on a wheat stock, sitting back like that. This place reminds me of some pictures from Aerylon," she explained.

"So you'd prefer to retire to a farm then?" he teased.

She laughed and shook her head. "I was only making a comment." Then she removed her shoes. Dangling her feet in the water, she looked back at him with a raised eyebrow, challenging him to do the same.

He unlaced his boots and followed her example, moving next to her. As soon as his feet touched the water, he turned to her, wide-eyed. "It feels like real water."

"That's the idea," she replied.

He eyed her outfit, noticing that though the style was unfamiliar, it was still flowing and red. "Civilian clothes look good on you."

She blushed. "Thank you. The new planet they've found for us is supposed to have places like this. It's been through something they call "terraforming." They take a planet and change the environment to make it livable. We'll be the first colony to settle on it, though in time we might be joined by some other Alpha Quadrant races."

"Doesn't sound so bad. It just means we have to share," he concluded.

"Yes, and then there's the aspect that once you and I train suitable replacements, we might actually be able to retire," she mentioned with a smile. Suddenly he leaned over, kissing her gently. "What was that for?"

"New beginnings. If I'm going to be semi-retired, I'm thinking about growing a moustache," he remarked.

She giggled. "My husband had one on New Caprica. It sort of took on a life of its own, but it suited him."

"What if I promise to keep it trimmed?" Bill inquired.

At that point she was laughing so hard that she grabbed onto his arm for balance. "If you really want to grow a moustache, it's fine. It's not like I'm going to make you sleep on the couch if it gets too long."

When she had stopped laughing, he took one of her hands in his, looking out at the water. The words that came to mind echoed a time that felt like years ago. "Is this really it? Is this how we're going to spend the rest of our lives?"

She leaned into him. "Would it be so bad if it were?"

In response he draped his right arm around her. Then she looked over and noticed his left hand sitting in his lap. "We do need to fix one thing though."

"Oh?" he asked.

"I have a wedding ring. Since people know that you usually wear one, it would be best for appearances if we replicated you one. If it bothers you too much to wear it, you can put it elsewhere when you're not in public," she suggested.

_Actually under the circumstances, I'd feel better wearing one_. "It's okay. I understand," he responded.

When the computer reminded them of the time, Bill and Laura exited the holosuite, heading for the transporter room. As the blue shimmer of Hannah and Charlotte together materialized, Laura stepped forward and took the baby from Hannah. "Did you have fun with Kara?"

"She told me pilot stories again, so of course I had fun," Hannah replied.

Her mother rolled her eyes as they walked back to their quarters. "One of these days she'll have her own child to tell these things to."

"Mom, I know how to behave," Hannah added.

The doors swished open as Laura walked through. "I know you do, Hannah, but-"

Bill cleared his throat. "Day off, remember?"

She glanced over at him and smirked. "Alright."

Hannah turned toward Bill as Laura sat down on the couch with Charlotte. "Kara said you got caught with your pants down."

Knowing that his cheeks were turning red, he muttered "It's just a figure of speech."

Laura laughed. "I must have missed a very interesting conversation while I was in the shower this morning."

"No. It was just me having coffee when she called," he stated.

"So, since you two decided to take a day off, did you two have any other plans?" the girl inquired.

Laura and Bill looked at each other. "Not particularly," her mother replied.

"Why don't we go to a baseball game?" Hannah suggested.

"I like that idea. Laura, what about you?" Bill asked.

"I would like to come, but I'm not sure how long I can stay with Charlotte," she reminded.

Hannah sighed. "Just come for a while."

They sat down in the gray plastic stadium seats as a team with black hats took their positions on the field. A team with red hats sent a man to the plate. Bill watched as Hannah jumped to her feet and cheered when the man got a hit. As he looked at the simulated crowd around him, most had followed Hannah's exampled.

"Which side are they we rooting for?" he asked her.

"The ones with the red hats. I can't remember any of the names, but Jake would know," she commented.

A man in a yellow shirt and black pants walked by, carrying a square heating container in front of him. "Hotdogs! Get your hotdogs!" he shouted.

"They're free in the holosuite if you want one," Hannah informed him.

_Good tactic. She wants one so she's offering one to me_. "Would you like one?"

She folded her hands in front of her. "Yes, please."

He looked over to his right at Laura and asked, "Do you want a hotdog too?"

"Sure. Jake warned us never to ask what they're made out of. I'm sure it couldn't get worse than algae though," she said with a smirk.

"I'd like one too," Bill mentioned.

Soon the three of them were eating their hotdogs. "See? It's good," Hannah remarked.

Bill nodded. "It's a fitting snack for what we're watching."

Laura raised an eyebrow. "It's okay, but at least it doesn't taste like algae."

Halfway through the game Charlotte began to cry. "You don't have to stay," Bill told her.

"Thanks. This was fun, but it's a little loud for Charlotte, and I have to look over a few lists on vice presidential nominees. I'll meet you back at our quarters," Laura stated as she stood.

Later when they returned, Laura shushed them, as Charlotte was napping. "How did the game go?" she asked in a whisper.

"We won!" Hannah exclaimed, trying to keep her voice down.

Laura looked back at Bill. "That's good. Tomorrow we need to head to the new planet."

"I think Kira's got a few of her people on Galactica. We'll see how they work out when we leave," Bill responded.

"Nerys has been very helpful," Laura added as Bill and Hannah sat on the couch.

"Yes, she has. By the way, we should speak with her about having them install one of these holo-whatevers on the new planet," Bill remarked.

"Yes, sir. Right away, sir. Anything you say, sir," Laura teased.

(A/N: I'm sorry that it took me sooooo long to post. I've had major projects to tend to in 'real life.' For those of you who are so inclined, Happy Thanksgiving)

(My thanks to Mamabella, Alecandrain2, Mariel3, Idellis65, McGonagallFan, and carolann for reviewing :D)


	19. No, no they can't take that away from me

Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel. I seem to have forgotten to mention that all Star Trek things belong to Paramount Studios. The name of the planet is my idea.

Chapter 18: No, no they can't take that away from me

Bill stood next to Laura on Galactica's CIC as they moved toward the new planet. Dee, Helo, and Zack each appeared to have a Starfleet officer trailing them. Though that was not exactly the case, the Starfleet officers kept scanning the equipment, running diagnostic programs.

"I can't believe something this old is still running," Bill heard a young blonde woman with one dot on her collar mutter.

Laura seemed to have heard the comment as well, sighing. Bill leaned his head toward her. "I resent that. Just because something's old doesn't mean it's ready for the scrap yard."

Something in what he had said caused her to smirk. "I think she was referring to the ship, not you, Bill."

"I still don't like this. It feels awkward. They're supposed to be helping us because we're shorthanded, and so far all they've done is analyze the ship," he whispered.

"There's one where Gaeta used to sit," she pointed out.

_Alright so at least one of them is working_. He looked over his shoulder, then turned back to her. "I need to speak with you privately."

She nodded. "Of course."

"Zack, you're in charge for the moment," he told his sort-of-son as he and Laura walked over to the control room.

"What's up?" she asked him.

He ran a hand through his hair. "I've been thinking about my eventual replacement. I don't want these Federation people running my ship, let alone the fleet. They can help out if they want, but it's not right to have them in any positions of power over us, considering that we're still a separate group of people from them."

"I agree, but where does that leave you?" Laura reminded.

Bill sighed, glancing past the glass window, watching the busy organization. "It leaves me with Zack and Helo…," he trailed off, an idea forming in his mind. "Yes, it'll leave me with Zack and Helo. Zack doesn't want the whole fleet, but maybe he doesn't have to be in charge of that much. He and Helo could split fleet duties."

"It's a start. For me, eventually they have to have an election in order to keep it a democracy," Laura remarked.

"That one's easy. We'll make sure the candidates are Colonials with our peoples' best interests in mind," he commented.

Laura rolled her eyes. "Easy? We've still got twelve colonies with special interests. There's nothing easy about it."

"I suppose we'll just have to sort this all out in time," he added, heading back into CIC.

Galactica circled the planet before people left in Raptors. Bill pulled Helo and Zack aside. "You wanted to see us, sir?" Helo asked.

Bill nodded. "I know who I want to take over for me eventually."

"Sir, not that I'm not grateful for how Starfleet's helped us, but I'm not sure if they're the right choice," Zack interjected.

"And just how do you know what I'm going to say, Captain?" Adama probed. Then he continued. "I don't think that the Federation should have that much power over us. I'm suggesting that the job to run the fleet should be split between you two."

Zack began to protest. "But sir, we-"

"Will do just fine, I'm sure. I'm not retiring tomorrow, so both of you will be trained when I am ready to retire," Bill added as they stared at him for another moment, perplexed. The admiral smirked before saying, "Dismissed."

As the Raptor landed on the planet, Bill noticed that several trees encompassed the landscape. Laura held Charlotte as Hannah walked ahead of her, carrying the diaper bag. Bill followed as they left the Raptor. He stopped when he reached a few trees, placing a hand on the puzzle bark. "This is a real pine tree!"

Laura laughed. "Of course it is. Did you think they'd use holo-emitters?"

"I just didn't realize the extent of this 'teraforming' concept," he replied.

"I think Jake told me the full-grown trees are something new they've developed," Hannah chimed in.

Bill grinned. "You have no idea how long it's been since I've seen an actual pine tree."

Hannah crossed her arms, smirking at him. "Then you should've been looking at the pictures of this place that Mom's been trying to show you." They all laughed as they passed more trees.

He stopped as they came to the community. Laura looked back at him. "What's wrong?"

"I thought we'd be in tents for a while," Bill remarked.

Laura smiled. "The Federation's temporary structures are sturdy, weatherproof, and best of all they come with doors."

The structures before them were not metal, but what looked to Bill like some metal-plastic alloy. The door had a handle to manually slide open. Inside was a small kitchen with a replicator, counter, sink, and table with four chairs. Beyond it were two bedrooms and a bathroom.

"Mom, this place has a lot of room for something temporary," Hannah remarked while her mother set Charlotte in her infant seat.

Bill stepped back outside for a moment to inspect the perimeter of their dwelling. The rectangle seemed sturdy. He looked beyond it to the other dwellings. _Makes me think of building blocks_, he mused. Past the rectangle city were actual buildings. _Laura did mention that they finished the main government building, as well as the hospital_.

He felt Laura slide her hand into the crook of his right arm. "What are you looking for?"

Sighing heavily, he faced her. "This is taking a lot of time and effort from the Federation, helping us settle. I just wonder what they'll want in exchange for it. I can see membership, but do you think they'll want more than that? Are they going to hold all this over our heads in exchange for something?"

She rested a hand on his chest. "Bill, they know we haven't got much. They're humanitarians and want to help. Yes, membership into the Federation will probably be part of this, but I don't think there's much more to it than that."

_It's been too long since we've trusted anyone_. "How can you be-"

"You're always at war, whether you're fighting an ideology, an enemy, or yourself. It's one thing I've noticed in both of you. Stop trying to fight a war when there isn't one. Maybe, just this once, we can find out what peace is like, and live like people," Laura reasoned.

He pulled her into a hug. "Maybe you're right."

She chuckled softly. "I'm always right. It's nice to know you've finally noticed."

As she moved back, he noticed her teasing smirk. "That one we'll have to negotiate."

"Perhaps, after I make us lunch. I don't know about you, but I'm famished and I know that Hannah will be hungry," Laura mentioned, heading inside the rectangular temporary structure.

"You cook?" he inquired.

She faced him, placing her hands on her hips. "Why is it that you always think I can't cook? I had the same conversation with my husband on New Caprica."

Bill brought his hands up in defense. "You just don't seem like the type."

Laura snorted, shaking her head as she touched the replicator selection, looking for vegetables. "Then tell me, sir, what is the type?"

_Why do I always get myself in trouble? Wait, at least she's smiling. How do I talk my way out of this one?_ "That wasn't quite… what I mean is… well you… seem too busy to be bothered with cooking."

She moved directly in front of him. "If that was your idea of a save…"

There was something about the spark in her green eyes, or maybe it was her hair, or just her in general. Whatever it was, only one thing came to mind. "No, but this is," he said before reaching for her shoulders and kissing her soundly.

Hannah had been unpacking a few of Charlotte's things in one of the bedrooms. Hearing voices, she had picked up the baby to see what was going on. "Are you guys fighting again? If you are…" she trailed off, seeing them. "If that doesn't beat all. Come on Char, let's go find a book for you," Hannah remarked, discreetly stepping out of the kitchen area with her sister.

Bill and Laura separated after Hannah had left. "Are you going to do that every time you're speechless?" Laura teased him.

He chuckled. "Maybe. I don't know what came over me."

"I know exactly what came over me, but I've got to make lunch," she remarked, turning back to the replicator.

He leaned close to her, whispering in her ear, "You're still a tease."

She turned her head to kiss him on the cheek. "And you're still a flirt."

Later after they had eaten, Bill and Laura looked over their schedules for the next few days. "You and I are needed at tomorrow's Quorum meeting," she mentioned.

"I should replicate myself one of those racktajino things that Colonel Kira introduced me to. Those things will keep you awake for days," he commented.

Laura chuckled softly. "Normally I'd agree with you, but this meeting should be one of the more interesting ones. "

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"We have to decide whether the colonies remain as they are or go back to being twelve separate groups, and that's just one of the topics on the agenda," she explained.

Bill looked over at Hannah. "What are you going to do during the meeting?"

The girl shrugged. "I'll probably finish Dark Day and keep an eye on Charlotte in the lobby. There is a lobby, Mom, right?"

"Yes. According to the plans that were sent to me, there's a bathroom right next to it too," Laura responded.

In the morning Laura, Bill, Hannah, and Charlotte stood outside of their dwelling. Laura kept looking at her watch. "It looks like a long walk from here. What are we waiting for?" Bill questioned.

"Public transportation," Laura answered.

He raised an eyebrow. "You mean there's a bus here?"

She laughed and shook her head. "No. They'll beam us over at exactly 0900 hours."

"Great, we get to be vaporized again," Bill grumbled.

Hannah giggled. "You do know that you said that out loud, don't you?"

"Yes," he said just before shimmering blue specks appeared around them.

They found themselves in an off-white and gray lobby with square-ish furniture. Laura handed the baby to Hannah as the girl looked around the room. "Boy, I sure hope they decorate soon. This place doesn't even have a fake plant."

"I think they get points just for putting the building up so quickly," Bill remarked.

Hannah shrugged. "Of course I could always give Charlotte finger paint…"

Laura rolled her eyes. "Young lady-"

"Kidding, Mom," Hannah stated.

As other people beamed in, Laura and Bill followed them into what appeared to be a board room, with black chairs and a long gray table. "How'd they get so much furniture over here?" he whispered.

"They replicated the parts and assembled them," Laura told him.

Bill fiddled with his newly replicated wedding ring, standing off to the side as the Quorum members took their seats. Laura motioned for him to sit in the empty seat to her right as she sat at the head of the table. _I should've asked her how she ran meetings. I have no clue if I'm expected to do anything here._

As if hearing his question, she turned toward him. "I'll do most of the talking. Everyone thinks you're still recovering and you're not expected to do much."

"Thank you," he whispered back.

She stood, facing the delegates. "Welcome to this first meeting in our new home in the Darius star system, Alexan II. You have the agenda in front of you. Is there anything anyone wishes to say before we begin?"

The Picon delegate with the mustache stood. "Madame President, Admiral, my constituents have asked me about when they might visit Earth. We have had the invitation extended out to us, but I'd like to hear a timetable."

"Mr. Acacius, as you are well aware, such things need to be done in an orderly fashion. There are over 60,000 of us and we can't all go to Earth at the same time. They need to be informed beforehand to trips we would make. I recommend that groups of no more than 5,000 visit Earth at the same time. Groups within that 5,000 will need to be organized so that everyone is accounted for. If you would like to be in charge of planning the excursion, than be my guest. Any questions?" Laura asked at the end of her oration. Being met with only silence, she looked over at Adama. "Bill?" He shook his head. "Well then, on to the next topic."

The rest of the meeting followed the same procedure, with Laura leading it. As the group moved down the list, eventually the subject of Federation membership rose. "Madame President, though I cannot dispute that these people have been helpful, I do have to question if we can handle something of that magnitude at the moment," the blonde Sagittarian delegate expressed.

Laura looked over at the blonde woman. "Ms. Larson, you have an interesting point. Do you mind clarifying why it would be an issue?"

"Ma'am, we've got internal problems to deal with right now. I think we should hold off on voting for or against membership until we've settled the issue of what's to be done with our original twelve colonies," Larson pointed out.

"Fair enough," the president acquiesced. Then she took a deep breath before posing the inevitable question. "Should we go back to our original Twelve Colonies then, or something else?"

A young delegate that Bill did not recognize stood at the question. From the way Laura raised an eyebrow, he could tell that she did not recall this new delegate either. _She looks like she's about Lee's age_, Bill mused as the woman adjusted the bun she had coiled her brown hair into. "I know most of you don't know who I am. My name is Candice Howard and I'm the alternate Leonese delegate in Brandon Folson's absence. He's feeling a bit under the weather-"

"Just get on with it. We'd like to leave this meeting before dinner," the Virgon delegate grumbled.

Candice glanced down nervously at her hands before turning her gaze toward the president. "Madame President, though we all come from different colonies, we have been one people since this journey began. We have united for survival and come out better because of it. People will either cling to their cultural groups, or to their friends of the last four years. Who are we to tell them where to live? Let them move about the area for themselves and make their homes. We can provide cultural centers to preserve our original cultures so that the past is not forgotten, but we cannot ignore that in the last four years we have become one people."

The other Quorum members began to argue. However, the noise level did not escalate to the point where Laura had to shout. "I agree," she stated, causing an instant silence.

The delegate from Picon loosened his tie. "But Madame President, our constituents-"

"Can vote on the issue in the next election," Laura concluded. "This meeting is adjourned."

The delegates filed out of the room, talking among themselves. Laura and Bill lingered behind. "Something tells me you've found a nominee for your replacement," he commented with a smirk.

"Perhaps I have," Laura responded. She smiled when they left the room as his hand made its way to rest on the small of her back.

(A/N: I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update. I've been terribly busy)

(My thanks to Idellis65, Ceridwyn2, McGonagallFan, carolann, and Mamabella for reviewing :D)


	20. Earth

Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel. Star Trek stuff belongs to Paramount Studios. The episode "The Chase " of TNG season 6 is also alluded to.

Chapter 19: Earth

In the month following the Quorum meeting, Jacqueline Laura Adama was born to Zack and Kara Adama. The family was called into _Galatica's_ Life Station to meet the newest Adama. As the others surrounded the bed, Bill lingered by the curtain, unsure if he would be welcome.

Kara looked from her daughter to the faces of her guests. Her gaze stopped at Laura. "Where's the Old Man?"

Laura inclined her head back to the curtain. "He wasn't sure if he'd be welcome."

The blonde woman rolled her eyes. "Tell him to get his ass over here. He's part of the family too."

Hannah cleared her throat. "Language."

Kara snorted. "She's not old enough to understand anything we say yet."

Laura brought Bill into the little scene. He smiled at Kara and Zack. "Congratulations."

"Thank you, sir," Zack stated, still looking slightly pale from the whole experience.

Kara faced him. "Would you like to hold her?"

He hesitated, glancing at Laura first. She nodded and he turned back to Kara. "If you don't mind."

"I don't mind," she said, handing him the wrinkly pinkish bundle. "There is a catch though."

"Oh?" Adama commented, looking down at the sleeping baby in his arms.

"You're only allowed to hold her if you promise to treat her as your own granddaughter," Kara explained.

He looked back to Kara with a warm smile. "You can count on it."

Another month past before the first shift of 5,000 Colonials was headed to Earth for a visit. Laura, Bill, Hannah, and Charlotte watched their descent to Earth from the Starfleet shuttle's windows. As the blue-green clouded sphere became continents and countries, Adama clenched and unclenched his right hand.

Laura rested a hand on his forearm. "Are you alright?"

He sighed heavily, leaning closer to her. "I wish my people had found something like this. All they got was a wasteland. They deserved to find a real home."

She laced her fingers with his. "Maybe they have. When I was in your universe, they were looking for another planet. Maybe they've found it and it's even better than what we're about to see."

"When did you become such an optimist?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"When I met you," she replied, smiling.

"You mean the other 'Bill,'" he corrected.

She shook her head. "No, meeting you made me an optimist. You gave up everything to come here because two people asked you to, and you had no idea what to expect. I don't have the words to tell you how much having you here has helped me."

Bill rested a hand on top of hers. "You've helped me too."

The shuttle passed through the atmosphere, through the clouds, drifing down to a long island. When the shuttle landed, Laura unbuckled Charlotte and picked her up as they exited. The group of 5,000 had been divided into 50 and was assigned Starfleet tour guides.

A young frizzy-haired human woman greeted them. "Hello. I'm Cadet Nancy Wilson. Your tour begins here in Japan."

A woman in the back of the group wearing a blue dress raised her hand. "How many places will we be going?"

"This tour begins in Japan, then proceeds to Guam, Indonesia, Hawaii, California, New York, and England," Nancy explained.

Laura and Bill walked next to Nancy as they passed through the tree-lined path. "Excuse me, Cadet. I was wondering if this was part of your training," Laura inquired.

Nancy smiled. "Actually Madame President, it's part of our preparations for diplomatic situations."

"How do the people of Earth feel about finding other humans?" Bill inquired.

"We're not as shocked as you might think, Admiral, Madame President. Captain Picard of the U.S.S. Enterprise discovered a common ancestor between ourselves and other Alpha Quadrant groups. This ancestor traveled through the galaxy leaving its genetic imprint, so it's not that big of a surprise to find other humans," Nancy replied.

She stopped walking in front of a gate. "We are about to enter the Kyoto Gosho Imperial Palace Garden. It is one of the historically preserved places that we will be visiting."

Bill and Laura noticed several plants that were unfamiliar to them. From the weaving trees to the small fluffy bushes with cascading foliage, the place was like nothing either had ever seen. "I didn't expect to find such a different environment here. It reminds me a little of Virgon, but I've never seen a plant like that before," Laura remarked, pointing to tall green bamboo stalks.

"And the architecture is completely different too. Look at that building over there. The edges of the roof are turned up," Bill pointed out.

Hannah walked over to them. "Jake said that Earth is full of diverse cultures with different languages."

"It's amazing how this contrasts to us, that on our twelve planets, most of the cultures were similar and we shared a language," Laura stated.

Bill walked over to a slow-moving stream, seeing long fish swimming in it. "I've never seen fish like those either. Look, there's a yellow one, and an orange one. That one's black. And look at the scales. They have flecks of different colors in them."

"I think those are Koi fish, and the tour guide just told those people over there not to pet them," Hannah mentioned.

The admiral walked over to the bridge over the stream. But instead of focusing on his surroundings, his thoughts stayed with Laura and Hannah. Charlotte squirmed in Laura's arms as she tried to look at everything. Laura hugged her closer while Hannah took pictures with a camera that Ezri had loaned her. _I'm here with my family, but it still doesn't feel right. We live together, we work together, but something's not right. I want to give her something more than just what the rest of our people assume. There has to be a way to make this feel real_.

Laura's voice drew him out of his reverie. "What's bothering you?"

His brow furrowed as he faced her. "What makes you think something's bothering me?"

"Well, here we are in this beautiful city, on Earth of all places, and you're staring off stoically into space," she pointed out. "Face it, I've learned how to read you; and I don't mean Bill Adama in general, but you in particular."

He sighed heavily, noticing that she had given the baby to Hannah for a while. "I want things to be right. I don't know if what I'm going to say makes any sense but the way things are isn't right. I feel like I'm just living with you."

"I think I understand. The humans here have something called 'renewing your vows.' It's sort of a mock-marriage ceremony where they say the same things said at their wedding and go through it with a reception following," Laura explained.

Bill smiled warmly. _Leave it to her to find the solution_. "If it's alright with you, I'd like to do that."

Laura smirked, her green eyes glittering. "Shouldn't you be phrasing that a little differently?"

He took both of her hands in his. "Laura, you and I have come so far. When we met, you reminded me of what I'd lost. But now you make me thing about what I've found. You gave me something back that I thought I'd lost."

"And what would that be?" she asked with a grin.

The answer was in his eyes, but he spoke the words anyway. "Hope. Laura, will you marry me?"

She squeezed his hands and kissed him softly. "Yes."

He dropped her hands to pull her into an embrace as she leaned in to kiss him again. A few minutes later, they heard Hannah clearing her throat. "You guys had better hurry up. The tour's moving on."

They laughed as they parted. As they rejoined the tour, his right hand held her left, fingers entwined.

(A/N: I know the chapter was short, but this story is almost done. Once again I'm sorry for the long wait. I've got an epilogue to go).

(My thanks to McGonagallFan, Mamabella, carolann, kywildcat, and Idellis65 for reviewing :D)


	21. Epilogue

Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel. Star Trek stuff belongs to Paramount Studios.

Epilogue

Bill joined Laura in the stands as Charlotte sat on her right. "Mommy, look! Daddy's here!" the girl exclaimed.

Laura smiled as Bill took a seat next to her. "I almost worried that you weren't going to be here this time."

"I came to all her other games. A decommissioning ceremony wasn't worth missing her championship," he replied, kissing her on the cheek.

Four years had passed since the Colonials had settled Alexan II. Though _Galactica_ was being decommissioned to become a museum, the Colonials would still have a military, being that they had the ability to build new ships. Hannah was now in high school and the pitcher for her school's softball team. The Colonials had latched onto the sport of baseball, preferring it to paresi squares.

Jacqueline, called 'Jackie' by her family, was seated in Laura's lap. She giggled at the players on the field. "Grandpa, they need to share the ball."

Bill mussed Jackie's blonde hair. "That's not how the game is played. You'll understand when you're older."

Laura smirked at Jackie before speaking to Bill. "Do you know when Kara and Zack will be back from the ceremony?"

"Probably some time this evening. Zack asked me to make sure that Jackie gets dinner," Bill replied.

"Look, it's Hannah!" Charlotte exclaimed, pointing to the pitchers' mound.

Bill quietly watched the wind up, the release, the smack as the ball hit the catcher's mitt. _One down, two to go_. The next pitch was hit, but it was a fly ball, being caught by the short stop. Hannah struck out the next two batters and Bill breathed a sigh of relief.

"You know, I think you concentrate harder than she does," Laura teased him.

"I just want her to do well. I know she enjoys the game," he responded.

Laura smiled, eating a few of the peanuts she had brought along as a snack. "Better not let any of those hit the ground. We'll have squirrels in the stands," Bill remarked.

They had not been able to replicate the rice they wanted to throw at the wedding, so Hannah had suggested using peanuts. Bill walked out in his dress grays with Laura, as she wore a flowing white bodice-top dress. To the rest of the fleet, they had been renewing their vows. But for the two of them, it was cementing a new beginning. As they walked out, fingers entwined, to the crowd of family and friends, peanuts flew overhead. However, it was then that they discovered the thriving squirrel population on their new planet.

Jackie giggled, squirming on Laura's lap. "I wanna see squirrels," she stated, reaching for the peanuts.

Laura moved Jackie from her lap to Bill's. "Not this time, young lady. People might trip over the squirrels."

The blonde girl looked up at Bill. "Grandpa, can I have a snack?"

"Only if you feed yourself and not anything else," he told her. Then he faced Laura. "Why don't we get them some hotdogs?"

Charlotte, Jackie, Bill, and Laura watched the next inning, eating their hotdogs. Later in the second to last inning of the game, Zack and Kara arrived with Dee and her sons. "Sorry we took so long. Helo's finishing up things over there," Zack mentioned.

Bill smiled. "I didn't expect to see any of you here. Hannah will be happy you've decided to join us."

"Mama!" Jackie exclaimed from Bill's lap. She moved over to Kara.

"Hey you. Have you been good for Grandpa and Grandma?" Kara asked the girl.

"Yep," she responded.

"She's been fine," Laura chimed in.

"That's good. Listen, Kira came over to _Galactica_ before we left. She's got some new gizmo to show you. She said she'd drop by your place later," Kara mentioned.

"Sounds interesting. It's been a while since we've seen her," Bill remarked, turning back to the ball game.

Hannah's team won as her final pitch was a fly ball to the girl in center field. Her family left the stands to greet her. Laura embraced her while Charlotte stood by Bill. "Congratulations, sweetheart. That was terrific."

The teenager returned the embrace, but squirmed slightly. "Mom, not in front of the team." Then she looked past her mother to see the rest of her family. "Hey! I didn't expect to see you guys here. Glad you could make it."

"Even a decommissioning ceremony couldn't keep me from watching my little sister's championship," Zack told her with a grin.

"You did well," Bill relayed.

Hannah spoke as they walked over to the transporter pad. "I was tired by those last three batters though. I really thought that pitch was out of here."

"Way to roll a hard six," Zack commented.

When they had transported to the two-story house with log cabin siding, Bill and Laura set out to fix dinner, deciding to add an extra plate for Kira. As the family sat down to eat, they heard a knock at the door. Laura left the table to open it.

"Nerys, it's good to see you," Laura mentioned as Kira stepped inside. The women embraced.

"Something smells good," Kira stated.

"We've got a plate for you," Bill added as Kira joined them.

Kira put her free hand up, as the other held a gray metal box. "Oh I wasn't-"

"Stay. Then I can tell you about the ball game," Hannah invited.

"She's the pitcher for her team," Zack informed the colonel.

"Alright. I am hungry," Kira remarked.

After the meal, Dee and her sons had to leave. She had a job interview scheduled the next morning, since her post on _Galactica_ was no longer necessary, and had to excuse herself to prepare for the interview. When the dishes had been cleared away, Kira showed Bill the box. "I have something that might interest you, Admiral."

"I've retired these days, so it's just 'Bill,'" he mentioned.

Kira smiled at him, then at Laura. "So you've both decided on the quite life?"

"Yes, and it suits us fine. I didn't want to run again, and I genuinely believe that President Howard has the Colonials' best interests in mind. I'm happy to be teaching Kindergarten again," Laura said with a warm smile.

The colonel opened the box, removing what appeared to be a round disc, eight inches in diameter and four inches thick. "This is a trans-dimensional radio. This screen toward the top lets you see the frequency, and the dial here helps you find it. The radio acts like a window. If you hold the lower left button down, you can say the number of the station that you send transmissions on. The button on the right there, if you hold that down, you can talk and someone will hear you. That speaker in the lower middle area lets you hear the other person."

"So basically I can use it to call the other universe?" Bill inquired.

"Yes. I'm leaving this one with you for that purpose," Kira relayed.

_I can talk to Saul and Lee_. Bill smiled politely. "Thank you, Colonel. You don't know what this means to me."

"You're welcome. I hope you can contact them. I should be going," she stated, adjusting the dimensional frequency for him.

After she had left, Bill inputted the Colonial wireless station. The family gathered around him in anticipation. Suddenly Tigh's voice was heard. "This is Commander Tigh, of the Battlestar _Galactica_. Whoever you are, state your identity and send us your codes."

_He's become more efficient, and it sounds like Lee promoted him_. "It's me, Saul. It's Bill. I know you're probably going to think this is some kind of trick, but I guarantee you it isn't."

"How in Hades is this possible?" Saul questioned.

"They've got some new radio that allows for 'trans-dimensional' discussions. It would be a little complicated for me to send you my Colonial codes," he told his former XO.

Saul chuckled. "I guess you're right."

"Is _Galactica_ still looking for a planet?" Bill probed.

"Found one and settled. You'll never believe what happened. We found the real Thirteenth Tribe. Apparently they had some kind of war and nuked themselves, but some had evacuated and found another planet. The survivors didn't know much about our history, but they were glad to see us. What've you been up to?"

"Not much. I'm retired now, and _Galactica _was decommissioned today as a museum. We've settled on a planet that Starfleet pointed us to as a colony. One continent belongs to us, the other two are occupied by other groups from the Federation. We've joined that too," Bill recounted.

"Sounds like you've been busy. Our _Galactica_ is still in use because the people we found wanted to build a replica of it. Their own ships are 150 years out of date. They spent their time on the planet cultivating the land instead of improving the technology."

Bill paused before asking his next question. "How is Lee? Is he still the president?"

"He's right here. You can ask him yourself," Saul responded.

"Dad?" Lee's voice said.

Bill smiled before replying. "Hello, Lee. Have you been listening the whole time?"

"Yeah. And yes, I'm still the president. I was reelected. Kara and I got married two years ago, and you have a grandson, William Joseph," Lee relayed.

"That's really Lee!" Zack exclaimed over Bill's shoulder.

"Dad, who else is there?" Lee inquired.

"Zack, Kara, their daughter Jackie, Laura, Hannah, and Charlotte."

"Is it alright if I talk to him?"

"Sure," Bill stated, letting Zack sit in front of the radio. "I'll let you two talk for a while," he told Zack.

Then Bill headed out to the back porch, his head swimming with memories of his previous life. As he placed his hands on the porch rail, he felt a hand on his back. "That was thoughtful of Nerys to let you talk to your universe," Laura remarked.

Bill turned to smile at her. "Yes, it was." He led her over to the porch swing and both sat down. "However, as nice as it is to hear Lee and Saul again, it makes me miss them more."

"I figured that's why you'd left the room," she stated. A breeze blew through and she rubbed her hands up and down her arms. He encircled her with one arm and pulled her close to him. She spoke again, leaning into him. "Do you regret it, joining us here?"

He sighed heavily. "I regret not being able to bring Lee or Saul with me. However, if I'd brought Lee, the government over there would've had more problems, and if I'd brought Saul, his being a Cylon would've been a problem over here."

"And Laura Roslin?" she probed.

Bill stroked her hair with his other hand. _How does she always know what I'm thinking?_ "Some regrets are easier to put words to than others."

He felt her take a deep breath. "Indeed."

"But I don't regret the time I've had with you, or the family here," he amended.

"That's good to know," she said as she moved closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder. "Maybe we should just enjoy this."

Her words brought back the one moment of peace for him on New Caprica. _This time I will_. The hand that had been stroking her hair moved to her cheek, brining her eyes up to meet his. He brushed her cheek with his thumb. She smiled, letting the 'hum' slip out. "I am," he responded, closing the distance between them with a kiss.

Fin…………………………………………….

(A/N: Thank you to all for being so patient with me. It's finally over. I hope you enjoyed reading it)

(My thanks to Idellis65, McGonagallFan, Ceridwyn2, Mamabella, and carolann for reviewing :D)


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